What Could Have Happened
by Lady Callista
Summary: A series of short stories based on Season 3 episodes and the various ways B&A could have gotten back together. Also known as Lady Callista's S3 Rewrite Series
1. Anne

Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: Do you even have to ask by this point? YES!!!! Por favor!!!  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different. Please don't sue. The idea that Hell has different layers is from Dante's "The Divine Comedy." Actually, alot of stuff about Hell is from Dante as you'll soon see.  
Rating: Same as the TV show for most of it, a little higher near the end.  
Spoilers: Set during the third season episode "Anne." Small spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened.  
Concept: Guess who Buffy finds when she's in hell? You'll just have to pretend the last part of the episode never happened, cause this story starts part-way through the episode and then changes the last parts.

Author's Notes: Okay, here's the deal with this story. If you've seen the movie Clue, you know that it has several endings. They do the whole "this is what could have happened" thing, and show various endings. Well, years ago, I was dared by a friend to do the same thing with Buffy. At the time, it was just called my Season 3 Rewrite Series, aka the I'm-changing-every-third-season-episode-so-that-BuffyandAngel-end-up-together series. So this isn't exactly one story, but I didn't want to put them all up separately, so think of each chapter as a "it could have happened this way." Each one will start at some point during one of the episodes, and then change things so that Buffy and Angel end up together. I'll be posting them not in the order I wrote them, but in order by episode. Some of them are fluffy, some are funny, and some, like this one, have actual plots. Anyways, here's the one for "Anne."

Oh, and one more thing. This story uses Dante's idea of Hell and what crimes it punishes, meaning that it is written with his Christian viewpoint of things. If you are not Christian please don't be offended by this or think that I'm using this story to shove religion down your throat. I myself don't believe that Dante's account is true, it just worked well for the story. I hope everyone understands.

_**Into the Depths**_

by Lady Callista

The demon moved on to the next person in line. "Who are you?"

"I'm nobody." The girl whispered fearfully, looking at the person on the ground who had dared to say their name.

The demon nodded and moved on. "Who are you?"

"I'm Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and you are?" The Slayer replied with a daring look in her eyes.

The demon growled low in it's throat and moved towards her as if to strike. Buffy lashed out first, hitting it with a backhand that sent it flying across the room. She quickly knocked out the next two that came at her, then moved back towards Lily.

She grabbed the girl by the hand and began moving towards the way they had come in.

"Anyone who's not having fun here, follow me!" Buffy screamed as they went. Soon a long line of people trailed behind her as she made her way towards the exit.

Running on pure adrenaline and instinct, Buffy fought like a wild-thing against all the demons that tried to stop them. Several other people had enough fighting skills to help her out, and soon the group had reached the exit. Buffy and another man began lifting people up and out of the hole.

When everyone was out, Buffy assisted the man and was just about to jump up herself when a voice stopped her.

"And you say that you love him."

Buffy whirled around to face an old man. "What?"

"You say you love him and yet you would leave him here?"

"He's not here." Buffy knew at once who the man was talking about. "Angel's in the demon dimension, in hell. This isn't hell, it's just some demons working people to death."

"This is merely the outer ring of hell. As close to hell as a mortal who hasn't died can get. You aren't in any of it's nine circles yet, that can only happen when one dies."

"Well if that can only happen when I die, and I don't plan on doing that, how am I gonna find Angel?" Buffy quipped at the man. She somehow knew instinctively that she could trust him.

"I can help you find him. I can escort you safely into the circles of hell just as I once did for another of your race."

"Who are you?" Buffy asked him.

"Will you come with me?"

Buffy looked into his eyes for a moment. If there was any chance of finding Angel..."Yes."

"I was known by the name of Vergil." The old man answered her first question then, reaching out his hand.

"Buffy Summers." Buffy replied reaching out to shake his hand. Giles would have been thrilled and probably awestruck, Buffy barely recognized the name. "You can really help me?"

"Yes, my child, I can." Vergil replied as he lead her back the way she had just escaped from.

"Wait a sec...we're going back there?"

"Hell is a large funnel, for lack of a better word. Where we are now is the outer circle, we're not even truly in Hell. In order to really be in Hell you must be dead. And even then, the outer circles aren't really Hell because they're not for punishing people. They're for those who lived before God was known so they can't be in heaven, but their ignorance shouldn't force them to be in eternal punishment because it's not their fault. They're also for the virtuous Pagans and those like them. Then the next few circles are for those whose sins are great but unintentional. The lowest levels are deliberate sinners. Each layer has a greater punishment than the one before it. In the center of it all is the Devil, who himself is imprisoned here, for his first sin is the greatest of all sins." Vergil said even as he walked on.

Buffy had been looking at him in shock this entire time. She tried to understand what he was saying. Then, something clicked in her head. "Am I dreaming?"

"No, why would you ask that?"

"Because what you just described sounds exactly like a book I had to read in AP English last year. By some guy named..."

"Dante?"

"Yeah, how did you..."

"He is the only other mortal the Heavens have ever allowed to be taken into Hell. He has written about it? Good. Then you know what to expect."

"I don't want to go. What I read...it was worse than a horror movie." Buffy whispered.

"You don't want to go? Not even for your soulmate?"

"Where is he?" Buffy asked the poet. It was her fault he was here, she had to help him.

"Since he has committed almost all sins in his time as Angelus, it was very difficult for Minos to place him. But a person is supposed to go to the place that punishes the worst sin he has committed, so that's where he is."

Buffy thought in her head, trying to recount the various sins that were punished in the circles. "He killed his family, his father..." She finally said as it dawned on her.

"Yes, he did. And betrayal of your lord or father is the worst crime imaginable. He is therefore in the center of the ninth circle, the very center of hell. You must go there, go to him. And you must bargain for his life."

"Bargain for it? How?"

"You must go before the judgment council. They do not understand the difference between Angel and Angelus. You must explain it to them. They must know that Angel is in control now and by punishing him they are punishing the wrong person. They are punishing someone who has committed no crimes worthy of the lowest circles." Vergil replied even as they walked on.

Buffy made no comment for a moment, deep in thought, and was about to speak when the man put a hand on her arm and pointed to a sign.

'ABANDON ALL HOPE YOU WHO ENTER HERE.' Buffy read.

"Oh, that makes me feel really good." Buffy said as she was ushered through a doorway and onto a boat.

"We are now crossing the river Acheron. It flows all the way around Hell. Remember that you need not be afraid. Your passage will be even swifter than Dante's. Nothing can harm you; you are under Divine protection. The Powers need your help to set Angel free."

"Why can't these Powers free Angel themselves? How can they leave him here? After all he's done for them..." Buffy wondered out loud.

"Because they are not in charge here. And they cannot journey here; it would destroy them. They can give mortals free passage every once and a while. They cannot set someone free who is here justly, and the demons believe they hold Angel justly because they can't separate him from Angelus. But you must help them do so."

Buffy nodded, understanding just how much was at stake. "Why me?"

"Who else? Angel had only a handful of friends to begin with, and none of them except you and the young spellcaster, and maybe the werewolf, understand the difference between Angel and Angelus. She would speak for him, the wolf might also, but it just wouldn't be the same. You have the unique perspective of loving him, so you can easily separate them. And the fact that you could not kill Angelus shows just how much you love Angel, and that is a fact that will be hard for the council to ignore. A Slayer is something they all know is always on the side of good. And if you love this man then they will realize that he is also on the side of good."

They got off of the boat and were instantly surrounded by people. Buffy shrunk closer to her guide, not sure what to expect.

"You in now in Limbo. It is not even true hell, but is for the Pagans and the other unbaptized who are virtuous within their own rights. There is no punishment here, yet it is not Heaven because we do not have the joy of God's presence. This is my home and my friends. Homer. Plato. Socrates. Electra." He pointed at a few in turn. "They mean no harm, they are merely curious. They have never met a Slayer before."

Buffy nodded to each of the people gathered, then whispered to her guide. "Can we keep going?" Every second they wasted was a second longer that Angel was in Hell.

He nodded and conducted her on to the next circle, the true beginning of Hell. He conducted her through the winds, hail, foul waters, and boulders that were all part of the punishments of the next few circles. Buffy couldn't believe the suffering.

They stopped when they saw a huge city. "That is Dis, the City of the Dead. The circles from here on are for intentional and deliberate sinners." Her guide said as they passed the three furies guarding the gates.

Buffy was lead through that circle and the next until she came to a huge precipice. Her hand came to her mouth and she tried hard to keep from gagging. The stench was horrific.

"And so begins the seventh circle." The old man commented as they crossed over the River of Blood.

Buffy had thought the suffering she had before witnessed was as bad as things could get. She was so wrong. She here witnessed people forever standing in the River of Blood, some in over their head. Others were attacked constantly be harpies, some were on plains with fiery sand and rains of fire. As they continued their descent she saw people with their heads buried in rock, others submerged in boiling tar, others being beaten only to have their wounds heal so they could be beaten again.

Buffy was in tears by this point. She could barely walk. She knew this wasn't even the worst of it. Angel was somewhere down here, and he was being punished worse than any of these people. She couldn't imagine what could be worse. And it broke her heart to think that she had sent him here.

"We are now passing into Caina." Her guide said. "It begins the ninth circle and is named after the first murderer."

Buffy nodded, remembering it from the book.

Her guide pointed out as they passed through Antenora and Ptolomea, both named for people famous for committing the crime that area punished. And finally then entered the last area. "Judecca. The very center of Hell."

Buffy whispered. "Home to Brutus, Cassius, Judas Iscarriot, and to the Devil himself."

"And to Angelus." A voice boomed out.

Buffy turned slightly to find that her guide was gone. She was on her own. She soon located the source of the voice. She knew immediately who it was.

"Bow to me, lower being." The voice boomed again.

Buffy almost went to make a bow, then stopped short. "I will bow to no one but God."

"This is my realm. Bow to me."

"Worship the Lord your God and serve him only." Buffy quoted from the Bible, inwardly thanking her mom for having made her attend a Christian grade school.

"Glad you know that. Otherwise you would have ended up down here yourself." The voice seemed amused. "And I've never had a Slayer here before."

"And you won't have Angel here for long either."

"Angel? You mean Angelus?"

"No." Buffy looked at him. "I mean Angel. They're two totally different people. Didn't you know that?"

"Angelus is a demon who has killed thousands and committed many heinous crimes against the world. He even tried to suck the entire world into this very Hell. If he had succeeded then all the demons would have been freed from punishment and ruled the world. But since he failed we are all still under God's commands. And we are all punished for what we have done."

"What? Do you have a selective memory or something? You only remember what he did as Angelus? All the hate? What about all the good he did as Angel? What about all the love?"

"I know of no Angel. I know that Angelus disappeared from our watchful eyes for many years, but then he suddenly showed up again. How a demon traveled the world for that long without us being able to detect him is a mystery, but one I don't care to dwell on."

"He wasn't a demon!" Buffy yelled.

"Then what was he?" A new voice asked. Buffy suddenly found herself surrounded by nine forms, who she realized must be the judement council her guide had mentioned.

"He was a vampire with a soul. He was cursed with a soul by Gypsies, and because of that soul he no longer killed or hunted. He spent his time trying to make amends for what he had done. He helped me kill demons and stop the Master from rising and..." Buffy trailed off, by now in tears.

"And what Slayer?"

"And I loved him! I still do. You know I fight for good. And you know that I would never love a demon. You must know that he's a good man!"

The members of the council looked at her a moment, then one of them raised his hands above his head and clapped them together.

There was a flash of light and Angel appeared in front of her.

Buffy let out a cry at the state he was in and took a step towards him. He began to collapse and she reached out and drew him towards her, slowly sinking to the ground with him in her arms.

Her flesh burned wherever it touched his, but she didn't even notice. She cradled him to her, crying out at what they had done to him.

"How could you not know who he was? Can't you tell he has a human soul? That soul is free of all crimes. There's a demon inside of him, locked away by his soul. If you need to punish something, punish the demon, not the man." She cried out hysterically.

"You believe the good you say is in him outweighs the bad?"

"No, that's not the point. You've got two different people here. A demon named Angelus and a human body with a soul named Angel. You can't punish one for what the other did."

"You truly believe they are different people?"

"Yes, I do." Buffy replied with all her heart.

"We will need to see how certain you are."

"How?" Buffy looked at them with fear.

"We need access to your mind, your memories. Because you are protected by the Powers we cannot access your mind unless you allow it. We will access only parts we need to confirm your feelings about Angel and Angelus."

Buffy looked at them fearfully for a moment, but realized that it was the only way. She nodded her agreement. A second later she closed her eyes in shock as memories ripped through her.

-Let's just say I'm a friend-This guy; dark, gorgeous in an annoying sort of way-Angel, It's a pretty name-You're cold-It looks better on you-Perfect gentlemen-All I can think about is how badly I want to kiss you-Kiss me-Her elders conjured up the perfect punishment for me, they restored my soul-I haven't killed a living thing since that day-You think I want anything to happen to you-You think I could stand it-

Images accompanied the words and thoughts that flowed through her and made her smile as she remembered those simple days. The council knew exactly which memories to pull and they were doing so at such a rapid pace that Buffy only caught a few words of each memory, although she somehow knew that they were seeing the entire scenes.

-I missed you-It's okay-One little dance, which I only did to make you crazy, by the way; behold my success-Love makes you do the wacky-This could get out of control-Isn't that the way it's supposed to be-I always wished I could meet someone exciting, interesting-You're the one freaky thing in my freaky world that still makes sense to me-I didn't even notice-Angel, when I look into the future; all I see is you-All I want is you-And the part at the end of the night, where we say goodbye, it's getting harder-The hands represent friendship, the crown represents loyalty, and the heart...well, you know-I love you-Just kiss me-

Buffy began to cry now as the scene faded away. She tried to brace herself for what she knew was coming next but it was too hard. She had buried these memories so deep she barely thought about them anymore. Now they came crashing back to her.

-Come on Buffy, it's not like I haven't been there before-Love ya too, I'll call ya-If Angel ever achieved true happiness, even just a moment of...he would lose his soul-The important thing is, you made me the man I am today-You're still the only one he thinks about-I'm sorry I couldn't kill him for you, for her, when I had the chance-Hello lover-I don't have time for you-Me-I love you-Close your eyes-

Still sitting and holding Angel with his head on her lap, Buffy bent over, her body over his and wracked with sobs. She cried harder than she had the first time because now she knew what had happened to him because of her actions.

As she cried into him she felt him stir beneath her. "B..Buf..Buffy?" Angel managed to pull himself up slightly, enough to take her into his arms.

She cried even harder at this, knowing how much pain he must be in, knowing all that had been done to him because of her, and his first thoughts were still to comfort her.

She pulled away then, horrified to know she was the cause of this, unable to believe he'd forgiven her. "Do you believe me? Can't you tell the difference?" She shouted up at them.

"We can tell the difference. We knew nothing before of Angel, for we do not keep track of the actions of people unless they are doing wrong. But seeing through your eyes, we can see that Angel is not the same as the demon Angelus who deserves to be here."

"So you'll give me him back?" Buffy cried again, but this time her tears were of joy.

Angel looked at her trustingly, barely understanding what was going on. He only knew that he had his Buffy back in his arms.

"We cannot give him back."

Buffy was about to say something about that when the figure continued. "Not as he is now. Angelus must remain here and he must be punished for what he has done. But we have nothing to keep Angel here. We will separate them, and Angel will return to you. He will be human."

Buffy started to babble her thanks but before she had more than a few words out her and Angel were enveloped in a bright white light.

The next thing she knew they sat on the floor of Angel's mansion in Sunnydale.

"Buffy?"

"You're okay?" Buffy asked in amazement, looking at him and seeing none of the wounds and scars that had covered his body.

"Yeah, thanks to you." He took her hand gently.

"Well, it was the least I could do. It's my fault you were down there." She looked down.

His other hand moved to her chin, making her look him in the eyes. "No, it's not. It's Angelus's fault. I know that you only did what you had to do to save the world. It's who you are Buffy. You had no choice."

"I did, I..."

Angel silenced her with a soft kiss. "I love you."

Everything flew out of her head. All her words, her rationalizations, her apologies, they were all gone. Instead there was only him. He filled her senses.

"I love you." Buffy whispered back, realizing that was all she needed to say. She leaned into him again, kissing him with all her might.

Angel pulled away a moment later, panting hard. "I've gotta get used to this breathing thing again." He chuckled.

"Oh, I'll get you used to it." Buffy grinned as she trailed kisses down his neck. One hand came up slowly and began to unbutton his shirt. "After all, you've got a whole lifetime."

"I'm more worried about making it through the next few hours." Angel gasped into her hair as she continued to trail kisses down his chest. Every patch of skin that was revealed she laid her lips to until she was at the waistband of his pants. She slowly pulled the shirt out of the waistband and pushed it back over his shoulders.

She brought her hand to his chest for a moment, relishing not only in the warmth of his skin but in feeling his heartbeat.

She was brought out of her thoughts as she felt his hands move hesitantly towards the bottom of her top. She pulled back from him and lifted her hands above her head, silently giving him her permission just as she had the first time they made love.

He slowly raised the top over her head and dropped it to the ground. His eyes shone. "You're beautiful." Angel whispered as his hands spread across her flat abdomen, sending shivers all throughout her body. His hands moved towards her back as she leaned into him, kissing him with all her might. Buffy's hands trailed over his arms, caressing the muscles as she went. Their tongues continued to dance. Buffy shifted herself closer to him, moving so that she straddled his lap.

Her mouth left his and started to trail across his face, kissing her way from his mouth to his ear. She kissed and nibbled on the sensitive lobe and felt him groan in response. Her mouth trailed lower, finding the pulse of his neck where she lay a feather-light kiss.

The hands that had been moving over her back stilled at her kiss, his pulse still amazed him, maybe even more than it did her. His hands moved down to cup her butt, pulling her even closer to him as their lips met again. He was already hard with wanting her.

Buffy twirled her hands into his hair, rememorizing every detail of him. She rubbed herself against him slightly and felt him grow even more. He moaned against her, hands again moving across the soft skin of her back. His hands found the clasp of her bra and he slowly undid it. Buffy pulled away from him for a second to let the straps slid off her arms, then pushed herself back against him, now skin to skin.

She slowly leaned further into him and pressed him back until they were both laying down.

"I love you." Angel whispered again between kisses.

"Prove it." Was Buffy's reply, a teasing tone coming into her voice.

And for the rest of the night, Angel did just that.

The End 

AN: Please let me know if anyone likes this idea, and if I should post the rest of the stories or not. Oh, and you get a bright shiny star if you actually recognize every single quote from when they were reading Buffy's mind and know which episodes they're from.


	2. Dead Man's Party

Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: Do you even have to ask by this point?  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different. Please don't sue. The title comes from a song by LeAnn Rimes and Elton John. I also quote lyrics from this song in the story.  
Rating: Same as the TV show  
Spoilers: Set during the third season episode "Dead Man's Party ." Small spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened.  
Concept: The mask thingy raises the dead, right? And Angel's dead, right? Well, kinda I'll give you three guesses as to what happens in this fic...

Author's Notes: Okay, here's the deal with this story. If you've seen the movie Clue, you know that it has several endings. They do the whole "this is what could have happened" thing, and show various endings. Well, years ago, I was dared by a friend to do the same thing with Buffy. At the time, it was just called my Season 3 Rewrite Series, aka the I'm-changing-every-third-season-episode-so-that-BuffyandAngel-end-up-together series. So this isn't exactly one story, but I didn't want to put them all up separately, so think of each chapter as a "it could have happened this way." Each one will start at some point during one of the episodes, and then change things so that Buffy and Angel end up together. I'll be posting them not in the order I wrote them, but in order by episode. Some of them are fluffy, some are funny, and some, like this one, have actual plots. The fluffy ones are coming soon, I promise.

**Written in the Stars**

by Lady Callista

Buffy tumbled out into the yard hot on the tail of the mask-wearing person. Several of her friends had already been frozen, and she had no idea how to stop this person who had once been her mom's friend.

Suddenly, in the mist of everything, she spotted something that made her completely lose it. Angel.

In the middle of the fight, with all the zombies swarming around him, was her Angel.

He rushed to her side, putting a hand on her shoulder. She shrank away from him when she felt that he was warm. This wasn't Angel. It was some trick! And in the instant that she was staring at Angel, Giles yelled out to her. "The eyes, Buffy. Destroy her eyes."

Buffy heard him and turned to face the mask, only to see a blinding white light. She couldn't move! She had been frozen. She knew then that all was lost, no one else could take her out.

Angel looked at a frozen Buffy in shock. He didn't understand how he had come to be here or what was going on, he only knew they faced a demon and that Buffy was incapable of moving.

With Giles's words echoing in his head, he charged at the mask with his eyes closed. He ran into the woman, forcing her to the ground. And just as he could tell her eyes were about to flash again, he put his hands over them. She released her power and it mirrored back to her, destroying both the woman and the mask she wore.

Buffy unfroze in that instant and looked down at him in shock. Angel looked into her eyes and said "I love you."

She had just opened her mouth to answer when he was gone. In the next instant she looked around and noticed that all the other dead people had disappeared too.

"NO!!!" She screamed. "Bring him back! You bastards! BRING HIM BACK!!!" Buffy shouted louder and louder, her fists waving furiously at the heavens. "You can't do that! You can't bring him back and then..." Buffy trailed off as she felt a hand on her shoulder, and promptly spun around to deck the unfortunate person, who just happened to be Xander. She decked him hard, and he flew backwards. Buffy followed him, hitting blindly at his chest again and again, sobbing, barely able to see. Xander reached out his arms as he attempted to stop her with a move he often saw in the movies.

He finally caught her hands and stopped her fighting, at the same time drawing her towards him and putting his arms around her. Buffy hugged him with crushing force. "Shh...it's okay."

"No it's not. I swear they hate me."

"Who does?" Giles asked softly, speaking for all the rest of the Scoobies who were gathered around her and Xander.

"The Gods, the Heavens, the Powers, the Universe...Whatever you want to call it, it hates me and wants me to suffer. They keep taking him away..." She blubbered.

Willow understood exactly what her friend was talking about, the others just looked at her strangely. "That was really Angel? I thought I saw him, but..." Willow trailed off.

"Yeah, it was. The stupid mask must have somehow raised him too. They bring him back to me for 30 seconds to save me and then they take him again. Probably right back to hell. How can they? After all the good he's done...all the times he's helped me and saved me and..." Buffy looked up and asked in a small voice, "Am I cursed?"

"No, of course not." Giles answered at once.

"Then why the hell does everything bad always happen to me? I'm the Slayer! I'm the good-guy. I'm fighting for them. Why do they keep tearing away from me the one thing I don't want to live without?" Buffy was near hysterics.

"Is it written in the stars? Are we paying for some crime? Is this all that we are good for, just this stretch of mortal time? Is this God's experiment, in which we have no say? In which we're given paradise, but only for a day?" Buffy and the others stared in shock at Oz as he softly recited the lines of something.

"It's a song." He defended himself a moment later when no one said anything.

"It's perfect." Buffy whispered as she got up and faced him. "Tell me more of it."

Oz reached for her hand and she took his. He started back towards the house, softly reciting more lines to her as she followed him meekly.

The others shared curious looks for a moment and then followed the two into Buffy's house.

The next morning, Buffy knocked on Giles' door excitedly. She was practically beaming. It was such a change from the hysterical girl of last night that Giles almost couldn't believe it.

"Buffy..." He began, only to be interrupted by her saying excitedly.

"Giles, Giles I had a dream last night. It was prophetic, I can just tell. I know it was. It..."

"Why do you think that, Buffy?" Willow asked from behind him. It was only then that Buffy realized that Xander, Willow, Oz, and Cordelia were all in Giles living room. They had obviously been there all night, probably talking about her.

"Oh, hi guys."

They all responded to her brightly. She looked again at Xander, the events of last night flooding back to her. "Xand, sorry for, you know..." Buffy began softly.

"That's okay." Xander said just as softly. "Willow explained a few things to all of us last night, and I finally get it. I mean, not in the true sense of..."

"Why was Angel, um, not Angelus. When he came back I mean." Willow cut him off before his foot could reenter his mouth.

Buffy looked down at her feet, her high momentarily gone.

"Buffy?" Giles came up to put a hand on her shoulder, which she placed her own hand over gratefully.

"Angel, was Angel. When I sent him to hell. Your spell worked at the last minute Will."

Everyone looked at her in shock. Finally they understood why she had run away.

"Just as the portal was about to open...and I was going to stab a sword through him, his eyes, they flashed golden. And he staggered backwards. I thought it was a trick at first, but his eyes..." Buffy trailed off as tears welled in her eyes. "He started talking, and I could tell he didn't remember anything from the past few months. All the time he was Angelus was forgotten. He just got worried that I was hurt..."

Willow got up from her seat and went to put an arm around her best friend. Buffy leaned against her gratefully.

"But it, it was too late. And I had to...so I told him that I loved him, and I kissed him, and then I sent him to hell." Buffy whispered, crying as month's of bottled up emotions poured out of her. "He trusted me so much. I told him to close his eyes...so I didn't have to look in them when I betrayed him...and he did. Just like that. He didn't understand anything that was happening...he didn't know why I was standing over him, crying, with a huge sword in my hands...he just trusted me. The look in his eyes when I stabbed him..." Buffy broke down.

Willow pulled her fully into her arms as the Slayer cried her heart out. When Buffy finally looked back up, her eyes were red and puffy. Tears still trailed down her face and she tried to wipe them away.

"But that, that's not why I came. I know how to bring Angel back. I dreamed it." She made no apology for her outburst, wanting only to forget it.

"You what?" Xander screamed.

"I know how to do it. Giles, do you have "The Kinfoar Legends?"" Buffy ignored Xander.

"Yes, I, I think I do. Why?"

"Cause I saw them in my dream. Somewhere in the middle of the third book there's a legend that tells of how to redeem someone like Angel from death and from hell."

"What is it?" Willow asked as Giles went to get the book.

"Well, have you ever read the Narnia chronicles?" Buffy tried to think of how to describe it.

The gang all nodded.

"It's pretty much the same as a part of one of those. Where Aslan dies in the place of Edmund."

"Someone has to die for Angel?"

"Not really. What's the exact wording...um...it's when Aslan is quoting about the deeper magick..."

Xander picked up for her. "It's something about when a willing person who has done no great wrong is killed in a traitor's stead that death itself will begin to work in reverse."

"Yeah, that's it." Buffy said, looking at him gratefully. "Well, that's what happened. Angel willingly went to hell...well...kinda. And since Angel hasn't done anything wrong, he is being punished in Angelus's stead. So death will work in reverse, all we have to do is acknowledge it by using a spell to start the whole thing in motion."

"You're sure?" Oz spoke up.

"Yeah, cause I don't want him soulless again and after me." Cordelia had to add.

"He's not soulless."

"And he never will be again." Willow said softly.

"WHAT??" Buffy looked at her in shock.

"I didn't want to say anything since it didn't matter and would only hurt you, but, um, I cast the Ritual of Restoration, not some vamped-up curse. All it did was give him his soul. There's no conditions to it since it was done in love and not revenge."

Buffy let out a little squeal and hurled herself back into Willow's arms.

She hugged the girl, hard, until Willow whispered, "Air becoming an issue." Buffy quickly released her but couldn't stop beaming.

And in that instant Giles returned with the book, already having it open to scan the middle sections. "I think I found it." He said as he began reading aloud:

"Evil shall be returned to Good,  
But for the Chosen there is not the time  
To love again the Good she knew.  
Willingly he goes below,  
Human again for the sake of death,  
Punished in his demon's stead.  
But since he has against none  
Lifted up his hand;  
All it shall take is his innocent death  
And a token of his soul.  
This shalt return him to the arms of She  
Whom the stars have decreed  
Belongs to him for eternity."

There was silence in the room for a moment, then Willow spoke. "But that's not a spell. It doesn't say how to do it."

"There's more below the verse itself. It says that the Chosen need only hold the token in her hand as she recites this verse and he shall be brought back to her." Giles replied.

"It also says that he's human." Buffy whispered. "He was warm when he touched my arm last night."

"Yes, all vampires become human once they are killed because as a vampire they couldn't truly be punished. But a human can be." Willow said, recalling a book she had once read that in.

"And he'll stay that way when he comes back?" Buffy asked.

"I think so, but we still don't know how to do that."

"Yeah, what exactly is the 'token of his soul' anyway?" Cordelia asked.

"My guess would be this." Buffy said, pulling a ring off of her finger.

"What is it?" Giles asked, leaning in to look closer at it when he realized Buffy wasn't about to let go of it.

"It's called a claddagh ring. It's an old Irish custom, Angel told me that it stands for friendship, loyalty, and love." She said, indicating the three separate symbols on the ring. "What he didn't exactly tell me, but what I found out later when a jeweler saw it, is that they were customarily used in old Ireland as wedding rings."

"I'd say that counts for a token of the soul." Willow said with awe.

"I sure think so. Okay, I'm gonna do this." Buffy said as she took the book. "Anyone who doesn't want to see Angel should probably leave now." She said, looking directly at Xander, then Cordelia. Her eyes turned finally to Giles.

When none of the three of them moved, she knelt down on the floor of the room and held her left palm up, setting the ring on in. She held the book with her other hand and began to read.

"Evil shall be returned to Good,  
But for the Chosen there is not the time  
To love again the Good she knew."

Everyone else in the room took a step back as a white light began to build around Buffy. It seemed to grow outward from the ring she held.

"Willingly he goes below,  
Human again for the sake of death,  
Punished in his demon's stead.  
But since he has against none  
Lifted up his hand;"

Buffy was by this time enveloped in the while light. It now began to move outward, making a bulge in the circle of light so that it extended a few feet further in the direction she was facing than it did anywhere else.

"All it shall take is his innocent death  
And a token of his soul."

The light around her claddagh turned ruby red, everything else stayed a blinding white. And Buffy noticed, slowly, that in the clear air in front of her when the light shone, there was another pinpoint of red light beginning to form.

"This shalt return him to the arms of She  
Whom the stars have decreed   
Belongs to him for eternity."

As Buffy said the word eternity, Angel suddenly appeared before her, dressed in the same black clothes he had worn when she sent him to hell. All the white light vanished, their rings still glowed ruby red.

"Buffy? I'm back again? What happened." Angel was confused.

"You're back for good this time Angel. We found a spell to get you out." Buffy said as she drew him into her arms.

He clung to her, almost afraid to let go after all that had happened to him. "I love you too." She whispered in his ear as a huge smile graced her face. Not only did she have Angel back, but she could tell that her friends were already starting to accept him again. And after knowing what she had gone through they were no longer mad at her.

Everything was perfect once again. Or as perfect as it ever can be for a Slayer and vampire who are in love.

Not caring in the least that their friends were crowded around them, Buffy and Angel came together in an earth-shattering kiss. Nothing would ever separate them again.

**The End**

AN: Another one with more plot than fluff, but it's hard to have fluff when I first need a believable plot for getting Angel out of hell. The ones after this will have more fluff and cute parts, I promise.


	3. Faith, Hope, and Trick

Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: Do you even have to ask by this point?  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different. Please don't sue.  
Rating: Same as the TV show  
Spoilers: Set at the end of the third season episode "Faith, Hope, and Trick." Small spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened.  
Concept: What if Buffy hadn't walked away before Angel came back? What if he hadn't come back acting like an animal? 

Author's Notes: See the first two parts for the full explanation. I realize this one is really short and not exactly my best work, but it does have more fluff than the first two. Comes at the end of "Faith, Hope, and Trick," and changes it slightly. Okay, more than slightly…

**Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever**

by Lady Callista

Buffy walked slowly into the mansion, twirling her claddagh where it hung from the chain around her neck. She had worn it this way, under her shirt, ever since she came back to Sunnydale.

Now she decided she needed to move on. She didn't really want to, but it was kind of a necessity. It wasn't like there was any chance that Angel could actually come back to her. And she knew he'd want her to be happy, at least as happy as she could be without him, without her soulmate.

She reached up slowly and unhooked the chain, sliding the ring off of it. She let the chain drop to the floor and held the claddagh between her fingers, exactly the way he had when he had first given it to her. "I love you." She whispered, bringing the ring up to her mouth and kissing the heart softly. She knelt down then, over the exact spot where Acathla had been, and set the ring on the ground, the heart pointing down where she knew he was.

"Goodbye." She said softly, her voice breaking.

She started to get up to leave, but couldn't. She just sat there, her body choked with sobs and tears streaming down her face.

Suddenly her Slayer sense went off in a huge way. She stood up quickly, trying to see through her tears what demons or vampires had dared to disturb her. She was already planning how to make their deaths as painful as possible. But she saw nothing.

She shrugged and was about to move away when the chamber behind her lit up with a bright white light. The earth shook.

She turned around quickly and saw her ring floating in the air above a huge rip in the air that swirled out different shades of light, mostly white.

Suddenly she saw a person in the middle of the light. The body floated there for a second, then fell to the floor. Her ring fell to the ground as the rip closed, and it fell right next to the figure's hand, which wore a matching claddagh ring. Both rings glowed white for a moment before returning to their normal silver color.

The naked shape looked up at her, confusion all over his beautiful face.

"Angel?!?" Buffy said in shock.

"Buffy?" He looked up at her, just as shocked. "How did I get back here?"

"I...I'm not sure. I set my ring down on the floor and the next thing I knew there was this flash of light and there you were."

"Your ring..." He picked it up from where it had fallen by his hand and handed it back to her. She looked at it for a moment as if she didn't know what to do with it.

"Put it on." He insisted gently.

"Angel, do you even remember what happened?"

"Your birthday...we made love. Then the next thing I knew we were here, and you were standing over me with...with..." He trailed off, unable to believe it.

"With a sword." Her voice broke as she knelt beside him.

"You sent me to hell!" He accused.

"And you had me there for a few months too!" She said just as angrily, even though she knew he didn't remember his time as Angelus. He would in a moment though, if what Willow had told her about the spell was true.

"What are you talking about Buffy? What did I..." He trailed off suddenly, doubling over in pain. She saw his shoulders start to shake as the memories flooded back to him.

Her anger drained away and she moved to put her arm comfortingly around him, but he pulled back. "How can you even look at me?" He snarled.

"Because it wasn't you. It was Angelus. And you're nothing like him." Buffy tried to make him look at her.

"But I am. I remember everything, everything that I did to you. I left you with no choice but to send me to hell..."

Even as his words acknowledged what she had been trying to tell herself for the past months, she could no more believe it. "Yes, I had a choice. It wasn't a good choice, but I..."

"Buffy, you couldn't let the world be sucked into hell. Not even for me." He said with a bit of gallows humor.

"But it wasn't even your fault. Angelus was..."

"Was me, Buffy. Everyone has both good and bad in them, mine are just a little more pronounced. How you can ever forgive the things I said and did to you..."

"I can't." Buffy said simply, looking down into her lap.

If she had looked up she would have seen his heart shattering. But she didn't, continuing to speak, "I can't forgive Angelus. But you're not him. I know it wasn't you that said any of those things to me or..." Buffy trailed off as she burst into tears remembering the things he has said.

"Buffy, I..." Angel began as he gathered her into his arms. She went gratefully. "Whatever you're remembering, it's not true. What Angelus said, it was meant to goad you, to throw you off balance. It was all lies."

"Was it?" Buffy whimpered. "Even what you said the first time you saw me after we..."

Angel thought back for a moment, remembering what he had said to her. His face took on an even more pained expression. "God, yes. Yes, it was all a lie. Buffy, how could you even think...you were wonderful Buffy. It was beautiful and..."

"How do I know you're not just saying that?" She wanted to believe, but she had been so hurt.

"Buffy, do you know what made me lose my soul?" Angel asked her.

"Yeah. Jenny said it was one moment of true happine...oh..." She trailed off as she got the point he was trying to make.

"You just answered your own question. True happiness. Perfect contentment. Do you understand how rare that is in life? Especially after all I've done."

"All Angelus has done." Buffy corrected. He chose not to argue with her this time.

"I love you Buffy. I just wished there was some way for me to show you..."

"There is." Buffy whispered as she put the Claddagh ring back on her finger with the heart facing in. "Willow's spell, it wasn't a curse Angel. She gave you your soul, nothing else. You can be as happy as you want."

"You...you're sure?" He sounded like the drowning man who had just been offered a life raft.

"I wouldn't say it if I wasn't." Buffy said as she moved closer to him.

Angel kissed her slowly then, almost with reverence. He couldn't believe he had gotten a second chance. And this time, there was no way they could mess it up.

**The End**

AN: See, short and sweet. What do you guys think?


	4. Beauty and the Beasts

Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: I need it as much as I need my daily dose of B&A tapes. I love it as much as I love Angel in leather pants. I'd beg for it more than I'd beg Spike for...well, you've got the idea.  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different. Please don't sue. The song used is from the movie "Love Story" and is the main theme from it. It's called "Where Do I Begin" and was written by Carl Sigman   
Spoilers: Set after the third season episode "Beauty and the Beasts." (AKA "All Men Are Beasts") Small spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened.  
Concept: Almost-pure fluff except for the healthy dose of smut mixed in. This one's a little, okay a lot, different from the others. You'll just have to read and see. And please don't get too confused, you'll understand it in the end. Plus the title kinda gives it away if you remember a certain song from Disney's Cinderella, which I will quote at the end.  
Author's Notes: For full notes on how this series works, see part 1.

**A Wish Your Heart Makes**

by Lady Callista

Buffy rolled over in bed, her arm reaching out to smack the snooze button on the alarm clock. She groaned and pulled the spread over her head. "Ten more minutes." She mumbled.

"No way." Angel said as he pulled her to him for a good morning kiss. "It's a beautiful day and there's so much we can do."

"Or we could stay right here." Buffy said as they continued to kiss.

"For a while anyway." Angel grinned at her.

Hours later, Buffy and Angel were walking through the Quad at Sunnydale High School.

"Hey, Buffy, Angel." Willow's voice said as she came up next to them.

"Hey Willow. Hey Xander." Buffy said as the pair started walking with them.

"So what's it like being human Deadboy?"

"It's great Xander." Angel said with a grin. "Except for you. Cause you can't call me that anymore."

"Hmm. Need to come up with a new nickname then." Xander mused as Willow pulled him away.

"Bye guys." She called out. "Have fun."

"Yeah, we should be having fun. What are we doing at school?" Buffy asked with a groan.

"You're getting the education you need."

"Aww, just tutor me." Buffy said with a sly grin as she slid her hand into his front pocket.

Angel proceeded to moan as Buffy tried out something she'd read in Cosmo.

"I don't think you need any tutoring in this area." Angel said when she'd finally pulled her hand back.

Buffy only laughed and grabbed his hand as they left campus.

A short while later Buffy and Angel were dancing at the Bronze. Buffy had one arm wrapped around him and the other resting against his chest. She still thrilled to feel his heartbeat.

They moved together slowly, every part of their bodies touching. Angel's hand slowly slid up and came to rest upon the hand she had on his chest. His fingers trailed over hers and then abruptly stopped.

"Why aren't you wearing it?"

She knew at once what he meant. "I left it at the mansion. When I said goodbye."

"Then I guess you want it back, huh?" He produced the ring.

Buffy pulled back from him slightly, remembering the last time. "I don't wanna drop it again."

"You won't. I'm here for good now. You'll never lose it or me again." Angel whispered as he slid it on to her hand.

"Till death do us part." Buffy whispered as he kissed the ring's inward facing heart.

"What?"

"I know it's a wedding ring, Angel. Did you think no one who saw it would ever know? Well, this girl in LA knew and she told me."

"Buffy..."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She whispered.

"Cause that's not all it means. Yes, traditionally the Claddagh was used as a wedding band, but it no longer has that significance. It means exactly what I told you." Angel told her.

"Friendship, loyalty, and love." She repeated.

"Yeah." He said slowly. "But if you wanna take it the other way, feel free. I just don't like the idea of even death parting us."

"Well, then, what should the vow be?"

"Well, definitely the thing about 'to have and to hold from this day forward...'" Angel answered her as he looked into her eyes.

"For better or worse. For richer or poorer. In sickness and in health." Buffy said just as solemnly as they joined hands.

"Forsaking all others. Forever." Angel said softly.

"Forever. That's the whole point." Buffy echoed his words to her from that long ago dream.

_Where do I begin to tell the story of how great a love can be,  
The sweet love story that is older than the sea,  
The simple truth about the love she brings to me,  
Where do I start?_

Angel's arms slid back around Buffy and they continued to dance to a new song, a song that seemed to have been written for them alone.

_With her first hello she gave a meaning to this empty world of mine,  
There'd never be another love, another time,  
She came into my life and made the living fine.  
She fills my heart,_

Buffy's hands wound through Angel's hair as she tipped her own head up and pulled his down to her, locking their lips in a passionate kiss. Her tongue pushed into his mouth and he groaned into her as he responded in kind. Buffy stretched up onto her tiptoes and pushed deeper.

_She fills my heart with very special things,  
With angel songs with wild imaginings.  
She fills my soul, with so much love that anywhere I go,  
I'm never lonely.  
With her along who could be lonely?_

Angel lifted her off the ground and fully into his arms, never breaking their kiss. His hands came down to grip her butt and she responded by wrapping her legs around his waist. The kiss deepened, if that was possible.

_I reach for her hand, it's always there.  
How long does it last?  
Can love be measured by the hours in a day?  
I have no answers now but this much I can say:  
I know I'll need her till the stars all burn away,  
And she'll be there._

The lovers pulled away from each other slightly as the song ended, foreheads resting on each other, gasping for breath. Angel slowly released Buffy and she hopped down.

She was about to suggest that they leave when a familiar song came on. Angel suddenly looked at her with a jealous face. He, too, remembered the song. "Sugar Water" by Cibo Matto. (AKA the Buffy-tries-to-make-Angel-jealous-by-'mating'-with-Xander song.)

"Shall we make some new memories?" Buffy whispered devilishly into his ear.

"I've never danced like that." Angel said with trepidation.

"Well, as I'm sure you remember, the guy doesn't exactly need to do much dancing." Buffy grinned as she started to move around him.

Angel's hands came to her waist as she slowly swung her hips back and forth, inching closer to him a millimeter at a time. When she was finally up against him, one leg planted between his two, her other leg outside his, she slowly raised her arms up over her head and began to slide slightly down his leg.

Keeping their legs firmly locked like that, she slid her hands between his arms and his body, wrapping them around his waist as she began to make a slow circle with her hips. He slowly followed her example, locking passion filled eyes with her own as they moved in tandem.

Her high, high heels made them close to the same height as they rubbed against each other and Buffy could easily feel his response pushing into her. She giggled and pulled out his arms enough to cause him to moan. She seductively turned around in the circle of his arms, then continued to make circular motions with her hips, her butt now firmly pressed back into him. He groaned and his arms pulled her tighter to him as he continued to move with her. Buffy's own arms moved from where they had wrapped around his and fell to her sides. She moved them backwards then, running them up and down the sides of Angel's thighs.

His hands tightened even more on her stomach, then slowly relaxed as he realized that two could play at this game. Angel let the tips of his fingers trail down her short skirt to her bare legs and then back up to just below her breasts, running them tantalizingly up and down her body as she shuddered in response.

Buffy's reply was to bend her knees and slid her back down his frontside, arousing him even more. As she lowered herself his hands cupped her breasts and she let out another moan.

She slowly slid back up and turned around again, fitting her legs firmly around his, as roving hands returned to her waist. He moved one around to her back and grinned at her.

She took his cue and leaned back from the waist, thrusting her hips even closer to him as her upper body arched away, hair falling back gracefully. He twisted slightly, sweeping her around as she lifted herself back up and began again the motions of their hips. Buffy moved slightly to the side so that their legs lines up perfectly and continued to rub against him, changing her motion slightly from circular to thrusting, pushing herself up against him only to pull away and then move again.

Angel's eyes rolled shut and he began to move with her, ever the fast learner. This time it was Angel who pulled away slightly, running a finger down the valley between her breasts, down to her belly, and back up again. She giggled and moved around him slowly till she was behind him, her hands sliding around his waist and down to fondle him lovingly.

Angel could finally take no more and spun around, pulling her roughly into his arms and sweeping his head down to capture her lips in a fiery kiss. She returned it in kind, hips still moving slightly and continuing to inflame him.

The song ended and still the couple remained locked together, oblivious to the outside world.

When they finally returned to it they noted that everyone was staring at them. Neither one cared.

"Maybe we should finish this somewhere else." Buffy whispered to Angel finally.

"It's almost sunset." Angel responded as he took her hand. "I know just the place."

"This is so perfect Angel." Buffy said as she and her lover walked down the beach hand in hand.

He didn't answer her at first, lost in the beauty of the setting sun. "It really was a perfect day, wasn't it?" He finally asked with a smile as the last traces of the sun disappeared on the horizon.

"Well, let's see. I spent the entire day with you for the first time in forever. Of course it was perfect." She teased with a grin as she drew him in for a long kiss.

"But there's something that would make it even more perfect." Angel whispered as they pulled away moments later, foreheads resting together.

"Yeah. There is." Buffy replied as she drew him back to her and they pressed against each other, seeking to meld their bodies just as they had their souls.

"Buffy."

"Hmmm." She moaned.

"Buffy." The voice got louder and less like Angel's. "Wake up."

Buffy pulled out of Angel's embrace and let her eyes flutter open. The sight that greeted her was her bedroom, her mother's face leaning over the bed.

"You're gonna be late for school."

"Mom?" She questioned, almost unwilling to wake up. She found it impossible to believe that she was in her room and that she had dreamed it all.

"You were just having a dream." Joyce said softly as she smoothed her daughter's hair.

_A dream is a wish your heart makes  
When you're fast asleep  
In dreams you may lose your heartache  
Whatever you wish for to keep_

"It wasn't just a dream." Buffy whispered as she slowly sat up. "It was a prophetic dream. I know it was."

_Have faith in your dreams and someday  
Your rainbow will come shining through_  
_No matter what your heart is dreaming  
If you keep on believing   
The dreams that you wish will come true_

And with that knowledge, she was ready to face another day.

_The dreams that you wish will come true_

**The End**

Author's Additional Note: If you're wondering about the locations I chose for them to visit (the beach, SHS's Quad, and the Bronze), I used those three because those are the three places Buffy talks with Angel at in her dreams in the three previous episodes and I wanted to give even more of an indication that this was a dream. You get a gold star if you caught on as to why I used those three places. Oh, and to those people who got a gold star for "Into the Depths," congrats. It's bright and shiny and looks great on you.


	5. Homecoming

Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: Please!!! It's kinda like my blood -- a necessity if you want me to stay alive and write more.  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different. Please don't sue.  
Rating: Same as the TV show  
Spoilers: Set right after third season episode "Homecoming." Small spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened.  
Concept: Buffy meets up with Angel after the dance. They talk. yeah, that's all I'm gonna give you. You'll just have to read it.  
Author's Notes: See part 1 for how this story works. Thanks to all who have reviewed so far. I think I'm gonna stop posting my old fics as one-shots, because for some reason those get almost no reviews, even when they're as long as a five chapter story. Where as this one, which is still shorter than two of my B&A one-shot stories, already has double-digit reviews. Thanks to you all.

**Far From Over******

By Lady Callista

Cordelia and Buffy looked at each other in disgust as the other two girl's names were called to be Co-Homecoming Queens. Then they both rolled their eyes and walked out of the dance. They couldn't believe that at least one of them hadn't won.

Willow, Giles, and the others followed them, and Buffy briefly explained what had happened. She promised more details later, then her and Cordy pleaded exhaustion and snuck out of the dance to head home. No one argued with them.

Buffy walked Cordelia home just to be safe, although the girls barely said a word to each other. As she left Cordy at her door, the girl whispered, "Thanks for saving me tonight."

"Anytime." Buffy replied, turning then to leave for her house.

As she walked home, she got the odd sense of a vampire following her. She walked on, hoping that it would go away. It only got stronger. Finally, she stopped, saying, "I am SO not in the mood for this tonight vampy." All she wanted was to go home and curl up in her bed and sleep for a week. Instead, she turned around to face it, and was shocked to find Angel there.

"Angel, you...should you be out so soon? You're still so weak, and..." She said, realizing how pale he looked, even for him. And he looked so sick and tired.

"I...I got the feeling that something was wrong. You were in trouble...I just wanted to see for myself that you were okay." Angel answered slowly.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but..."

"Your dress...what happened? You look like..."

"Like hell?" She asked jokingly. "Thanks a lot."

"You know what I mean." Angel said slowly.

"Yeah, I do. Look, I'll tell you all about it, but first I'm gonna help you back to the mansion. You don't look so good yourself right now." She said, putting an arm around his waist and taking on as much of his weight as she could.

He didn't argue, it was obvious how much the effort of finding her and walking around had exhausted him. She was touched that he had worried so, although in his condition he probably couldn't have helped her even if she had been in trouble.

As they walked, she talked; telling him about her wonderful senior Homecoming night. She started by saying that she wasn't Queen. Then she went into everything she and Cordy had gone through, telling him all about Slayerfest 98, Mr. Trick, and everything else.

They arrived at the mansion when she was almost done and sat on the couch as she continued to talk, him asking occasional questions.

When she had finished, he looked at her for a moment, processing everything she had said. Finally he came down to one question. "Why wasn't your boyfriend in the limo with you?"

There was a moment's silence.

"My...my boyfriend?" Buffy squeaked out at last, trying to stall.

"Yeah, Scott something, right? Wasn't he your date?" Angel sounded confused.

"Well, actually, no. We...he dumped me a few days ago." Buffy decided to be truthful. He'd see right through her anyway if she tried to lie. He always did.

Angel noticed she didn't seem overly upset about the breakup. "Why? What happened?"

"He said I'd changed. That I wasn't fun-Buffy anymore." Now she was getting upset. "He said he hoped I could work out whatever problems I had, but that he couldn't be there for me while I got my life in order."

"But he knew what you were like when you started going out..."

"Well, he always thought I was a little different, my first reaction to him asking me out didn't help much, but he just kinda liked how I was. He said I was unique." She said slowly.

"Your first reaction?" Angel questioned.

"He...when he asked me out, he said he had something he wanted to give me. A little token, if you will. He gave me a box, saying this guy at the mall had told him it was a friendship ring. So I'm thinking, you know, it's one of those little multicolored bands that they used in Mom's time." Angel nodded and she continued in a rush. "Or maybe it's a promise ring or something and he just didn't know the difference. Or one of those cheesy things where it says half the word and the other person wears the other half of it."

"But it wasn't any of those things?" Angel asked her, unable to understand why a friendship ring would upset her as much as she sounded like she was.

"No, it...it wasn't. When I opened the box and saw it, I dropped it so fast. Then I started crying and had to run away from him. All the memories came rushing back and it was just too much for me to handle. I thought I was getting better, but all it took was..."

"Buffy, what was it?" He interrupted to stop her babbling.

"It was a..." She burst into tears. Unable to speak, she held up her right hand.

She wore several rings on it, but it was the one Angel himself had given her that caught his attention. It still sat on her middle finger, heart facing towards her, just as she had placed it all those months ago.

"He said that was a friendship ring?" Angel asked in shock. "What an idiot. If he didn't know he shouldn't have..."

"It's okay, Angel. It's not his fault. How could he know? I mean, if you wear it facing out it doesn't really mean anything about love, right?" She asked. "And there was no way he could know that you..."

"I take it you weren't wearing yours then." Angel asked, pain in his eyes.

"No, I...when I came back after the summer, I put it away. In the same little box with the cross you had given me. It just hurt so much to look at them. Cause whenever I did, I'd start remembering, and then I'd start crying, and then I'd mope around uselessly for the rest of the day. It was just easier to put them away. I could never forget, but at least this way I wouldn't be reminded of you quite so much." He didn't interrupt as she said her piece.

"But you're wearing it now." Angel said when he was sure she was done.

"Yeah, well, once you came back, I just put it back on. I didn't even think about it really, it was just like; wake up, shower, dress for school, put on make-up and jewelry, put on claddagh ring; it just kinda happened. I didn't even think about it till I noticed I had left it on for tonight. It just kinda felt like a part of me again. None of the gang has noticed yet, I don't know what I'll say if they do..."

"Even Scott didn't notice? After he had tried to give you one and all?" Angel asked.

"Nope. He didn't notice the ring at all. Just that he didn't like what he saw in me anymore."

"But he liked you before, right? I mean, if he asked you out and all."

"I was different then. You weren't..." She trailed off, unable to finish the statement.

"In the picture?" He asked with hurt in his eyes.

"That's not what I mean. You, you were gone. So I wanted to try and move on with my life. Have that normal life you always thought I should have. It wasn't really what I wanted, but everyone else thought I should have it. They didn't realize that I didn't even want another relationship. I didn't want anyone else. I don't think any of them have even a fraction of a clue as to how much losing you hurt. They don't know what it did to me to have to..." She trailed off again, only this time she was in tears. He pulled her hesitantly into his arms, trying to comfort her. She went to him then, arms wrapping around him tightly. She sobbed into his chest. She cried for all that they had lost, all that had happened to him, and most of all she cried for what they could never have.

"Shhh...it's okay." He whispered as he stroked her hair. "It's okay, mó ionúin. I'm here for you."

"But how can you say that? How can you forgive me? I, I killed you. It's my fault you were in hell all that time, and..."

"No, no it's not. In fact, memories of you were all that got me through it. All I had to do was think of you and know that you were safe and alive and then I felt better. All I had to do was picture your smiling face and suddenly it was like there was no pain. I didn't blame you, Buffy. Angelus was trying to destroy the world, and it's kinda your job to not let that happen. If you hadn't done what you had, I still would have been in hell, only the entire world, yourself included, would have been there with me. I had my soul back, Buffy, can you imagine how guilty I would have felt? You let the world go to hell because you couldn't kill me?" Angel was baring his very soul to her, and it almost drove her to tears again.

"But instead, I sent you to hell. I never wanted to hurt you Angel. God, even when you...even after Angelus killed Jenny and threatened all my friends, I couldn't kill him. Cause he wore your face and I knew that in some ways he loved me as much as you do. Willow told me that the only thing that didn't change when you went from Angel to Angelus is that I was still the only thing you thought about."

"She was right." He said as he stroked her face. "And that was a pretty bad thing for you, but still..."

"Yeah. Still...it was so amazing. I didn't know vampires could feel like that, especially for a Slayer."

"But I do Buffy."

"You're different." Buffy insisted.

"I know, but still. In some ways I'm the same person as Angelus is. I have the same passions, the same loves and desires. I just don't express myself like he does."

As he said the words love and desire, she felt her heart turn a little flip. She hadn't been positive that was how he still felt.

"You mean that..." She questioned in wonder.

"That I still love you. And I wasn't sure about how you felt so I wasn't going to say anything cause you seemed happy with your life; but you just showed me that you still wear the ring facing in and I thought that maybe..." He broke off as Buffy leaned in to kiss him. It started as a short, soft kiss, but it soon rivaled the intensity of the last time they had kissed. He could feel her pour her very soul into that kiss, trying to tell him all that she couldn't seem to put into words.

Angel returned the kiss with all his heart, letting her know the depth of his love.

And in that moment they both knew that whatever happened, either in the past or in the future, nothing would ever tear them apart. Somehow, they would find a way to work everything out. Because things were far from over. In fact, they had just begun anew.

The End

AN: mó ionúin – Gaelic for "my beloved." I enjoy letting Angel use a few words in his native tongue from time to time, and this is one of those phrases that shows up in lots of B&A fics. I know there used to be a website with this name, full of wonderful B&A fics, and there was a time when no B&A fic reader didn't know it. I'm putting in the translation here cause I'm not sure if that's still the case.


	6. Band Candy

Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: I need it as much as I need my daily dose of B&A tapes. I love it as much as I love Angel in leather pants. I'd beg for it more than I'd beg Spike for...well, you've got the idea.  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different. Please don't sue, believe me, it's not worth it.  
Rating: Same as the show  
Spoilers: Set during the third season episode "Band Candy." Spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened.  
Concept: What if Buffy had asked Angel for help since he's the only "adult" that's acting like an adult? This fic starts as Buffy and Snyder leave Willow and Oz and go off to find the factory and hopefully whoever's running it. Buffy stops to get Angel and things progress from there.  
Author's Notes: See full notes in part 1 for how this story works.

AN: Oh, one thing I noticed from one of the last reviews of the last chapter: a person commented that my scene made them sad, knowing what happened after it. To truly enjoy this series, you have to assume that one B&A get back together in a particular episode, everything after that happens differently. Assume that they're together from that point in the season on. That's why none of the chapters actually go together, they're all ways they could have gotten together, but it's assumed that once they get together they stay that way and the rest of the season changes as a result. Does that make people happier? Oh, and this one has quite a few things taken directly from the episode and modified slightly, so if you recognize something that's probably why.

**Acting Your Age**

by Lady Callista

"Stay." Buffy commanded Snyder as her mother's car screeched to a halt on Crawford Street.

He glared at her but remained in the passenger seat gripping his seatbelt tightly.

"Angel?" Buffy called out as she approached the mansion. "Angel?"

He opened the door just as she was about to pound on it.

"Buffy. What's wrong?" He asked as he pulled on a shirt. She had obviously caught him working out again, and found herself wishing for a second she hadn't announced her presence and had gotten to watch him again. Then other thoughts prevailed.

"You've gotta come with me. I need someone who doesn't have the mind of a teenager." She took his hand and almost dragged him towards the Jeep. She moved Snyder into the back-seat and got herself into the driver's. Angel stood outside. "You can drive?"

"Yes. Well, kinda, but that's not the point. We've gotta hurry." Buffy glared at him and he slowly got in. As she drove, she explained what was going on.

Angel's concern grew by the minute, and not just from her story.

Several minutes later, but not nearly soon enough for either of the car's passengers, Buffy pulled up outside the chocolate factory. Everyone got out of the car and headed towards the factory. Buffy was just about to head in when she noticed someone. Or rather, two someones.

"Mom? Giles?!"

"Go away. We're busy." Giles responded. He then did a double take. "Angel? Oh, bloody hell..." He began to move threateningly towards the vampire.

"Stop." Buffy commanded as she grabbed his shoulder. "Yes, that's Angel. He's back and in full possession of a soul. Which is not the issue right now...Mom!" Buffy pulls her mother away from her Watcher.

"Hey!"

"Where did you get that coat? Never mind. Listen..." Buffy asked her mom. Giles grabbed her arm and turns her to face him. "Back off!"

"Giles, think about this. You wanna fight me, or you wanna let me talk to my mother?" Buffy glared daggers at him and he backed down. He then pulled out a cigarette from behind his ear and proceeded to light it.

"Mom, look at me. Do you know who I am?"

"Of course. You're Buffy. Hey, look. They're, they're giving away candy. You want some candy?" Joyce is slightly out of it.

"No, I don't! And you don't need any more, either." Buffy tried to reason with her mother.

"I'm fine. I can have more if I want." Joyce said loudly.

"You are not fine. You need to go home." Buffy said. "Angel, help please."

Angel moved up next to her and looked at Giles and Joyce. If it wasn't so serious this would be really funny.

"Mrs. Summers..."

"You...you...I know you." Joyce reached for Angel's arm.

"Yeah, um, mom..." Buffy suddenly realizes that the last time her mother saw him he was Angelus and practically stalking her.

"You're so cute!" Joyce grinned as she leaned towards Angel to kiss him.

"Mother!" Buffy yelled as she pulls her away. "Hands. Off. My. Boyfriend." She punctuates each word with a slight shake of her mother's shoulders.

"Oh, he's your bloody boyfriend again, is he?" Giles asked. "Should have known. He comes back from hell and you two just kiss and make up, never mind that he's a vampire and ..."

"Hell? VAMPIRE?"

"Thanks a lot." Buffy glared at Giles and ignored her mother's questions. She stepped over to Giles.

"Listen to me. You need..."

"No, you listen to me." Giles interrupted. "I'm your Watcher, so you do what I tell you. Now, sod off!"

Buffy grabbed the cigarette from his mouth, threw it down and stomped it out. "Take her home."

Buffy gave Angel a look that says 'let's go' and the two of them progressed into the crowd, leaving her mother and Watcher behind. They, and Snyder, moved to follow the pair.

Buffy and Angel fought several of the guards as they attempted to stop them from giving out more candy. As they were fighting, Buffy saw Giles and her mother at the base of the dock stuffing chocolate bars into their pockets and went over to them.

"Mom!" Buffy grabbed her mother by the arms and pulled her up.

"Hey!"

"Oy! You leave her alone!" Giles attempted to pull Joyce away but Buffy only glared at him.

Angel kicked in the door to the factory and Buffy pulled her mother with them into the building. Giles followed.

"Stay." Buffy instructed Joyce as she left her in a large room. "Come on Angel."

As her and Angel moved to case out the area, Angel noticed a man with his back to them.

He pointed him out and Buffy noticed that he was on the phone and slowly approached.

"This is far out." Buffy heard Giles's voice as he entered the room full of chocolatly goodness but she ignored him as the man on the phone stopped listening and started to talk.

"Yeah, I've been out there. Town's wide open. You guys can go anytime." Buffy immediately recognized the voice and crossed her arms as she closed the distance between them. "Ethan Rayne."

He turned to face her, eyes going wide with surprise. He saw Giles behind her and his eyes got even bigger. Then Angel appeared next to Buffy and Ethan freaked.

"Might wanna hurry." He said as he quickly hung up the phone and took off at a dead run.

Buffy, Angel and Giles gave immediate chase.

Ethan darted into the maze of cases of candy bars. Buffy and Angel rushed to keep up. They made several twists and turns, finally coming around a corner to discover that they've lost him. Behind them, Giles stopped running too, breathing heavily to catch his breath.

"Where... Bloody Hell!"

"That's what smoking will do to you. N..." Buffy quipped at Giles.

"Now be quiet." Angel finished her sentence.

The two looked at each other and grinned slightly.

"Well... Where'd the bastard go?"

"Shhh." Both Buffy and Angel shushed the Watcher and then almost laughed. They were back in sync, just like they always used to be.

They both looked around and listened carefully. Buffy abruptly stopped in one corner and cocked her head slightly. Angel nodded and got on the other side of the box she stood next to.

"What?" Giles asked, but was ignored.

Buffy pretended to move on, then suddenly spun a hook-kick right into a crate. Angel yanked away a chunk of wood, reached in and pulled out Ethan's head.

"Look. A box full of farm-fresh chicken."

Ethan gave her a nervous smile, but it quickly faded as Angel pulled him out of the crate.

"So, Ethan, what are we playing? We're pretty much in a talk-or-bleed situation. Your call." Buffy glared at the man as Angel kept a hand on his throat.

"Hit him." Giles yelled. Buffy glared at him for an instant, then looked back at Ethan.

"I-I'd just like to point out that this wasn't my idea."

"Meaning...?" Angel prompted as he squeezed his neck a little tighter. "I'm subcontracting. It's Trick you want. I'm just helping him collect a tribute... for a demon."

"He's lying. Hit him! Come on, let Angelus come out to play." Giles, in the mind set of his teenaged years, was obviously thrilled to know a baddie like Angelus.

Angel just stared at him and growled. "Shut up."

"I don't think he's lying." Buffy said, looking Ethan hard in the eyes.

"You're my Slayer, go knock his teeth down his thr..."

"Giles!" Both Buffy and Angel said in exasperation.

Giles shut up but continued to glare at his former friend.

"What demon?"

"I don't remember." Ethan replied all too quickly.

Buffy punched him solidly in the nose. He stumbled and would have fallen if it weren't for Angel's grip on him.

Giles jumped and swung his fist through the air. "Yes!"

Buffy gave Giles a glaring look. He quickly lost his smile.

"Lurconis. Demon named Lurconis. They wanted a way to get the tribute away from people. They said the tribute was big, so big that people would never let them take it. That people had to be out-of-it. And later on, when the candy wore off, they'd blame themselves." Ethan said quickly, hoping to avoid being hit again.

"Hence, land of the irresponsible." Buffy sighed.

"So, where's Trick?" Angel asked Ethan.

"I don't know exactly."

"Hit him again." Giles said excitedly.

Angel held up a fist and let himself shift into gameface. Giles moved closer, almost beaming in anticipation.

"No! I-I-I really don't know. Delivering the tribute."

Buffy stepped closer, "Which brings us to the bonus question, and believe me when I say a wrong answer will cost you all your points."

Behind her Giles leapt up joyously with a huge smile on his face, anticipating a good fight.

"What's the tribute?"

"I...I don't know."

"I do." Angel said suddenly. He had been looking this entire time like he was trying to remember something.

"What?" Buffy turned to him quickly.

"Lurconis." Angel said slowly, knowing this would be hard for her to hear,

"Lurconis, well, he eats babies. Every thirty years he needs some as a tribute to him."

"Babies?" Buffy's eyes widened in shock and her face took on a sad appearance.

Angel's first instinct was to comfort her and he moved to do so, momentarily forgetting about Ethan. Ethan spied a crowbar on the table and reached for it as he advanced toward Angel, who had Buffy wrapped in his arms. Giles noticed his advance. He pulled back the hammer on his stolen Beretta and pointed it at Ethan's neck. "I wouldn't." Ethan stopped cold in his tracks.

Buffy pulled herself away from Angel and turned around to find Giles aiming the gun at the back of Ethan's head, execution style.

"Giles, give me the gun." Buffy said, keeping an eye on Ethan.

He just stared at Buffy and doesn't give in.

Both Buffy and Angel stared back. "Giles..."

He kept the gun aimed right where it was.

"Now." Buffy insisted, giving Giles a look.

After another moment Giles reluctantly gave up his weapon. Angel took it and turned to Ethan, using the butt of the gun to whack Ethan on the head. Giles cheered. The magician crumpled to the ground. Angel passed the gun back to Buffy who stuffed it into the back of her pants.

"Let's get going." Buffy finally got a plan into her mind.

Angel picked Ethan's unconscious form up and the three returned to where Buffy had left her mother. They found Joyce perched on a table, blowing bubbles with her gum.

"Come on." Buffy said, taking her mother's hand.

"Well, what about that man?" Buffy turned to see Angel depositing Ethan roughly on the floor. Giles watched in awe.

"Uh, see if you guys can find something to tie him up with."

"Um..." Joyce reached behind her and pulled out a set of handcuffs, dangling them from her thumb and giving her daughter a sheepish but mischievous look. Buffy looked over at Angel incredulously, he only shrugged.

"Never tell me." Buffy said finally as she grabbed the cuffs and headed over to Ethan.

A few minutes later, Buffy, Angel, Giles, and Joyce stood in a room at Sunnydale General Hospital. Buffy looked at an identification wristband left behind in one of the empty cribs. There were a few tears in her eyes at the thought of what might happen to these babies. Angel had an arm around her supportively.

Giles was outside the room talking with the nurse on duty. He came in looking rather disgusted. "She says she never saw who took them. Dozy cow."

"I know who took them." Buffy said firmly. "I was just hoping to get here before they were taken.

"Well, then let's do something. Let's find the demon and, and... kick the crap out of it." Giles was not his usual helpful self.

"Yeah, if we knew where they were." Angel said as Buffy began to pace the room.

Giles suddenly remembered a passage from a book and quoted it. "'Lurconis dwells beneath the city, filth to filth.'"

"What?" Buffy stopped pacing and came to a stop next to Angel.

"Ooo! I know this. Uh... I knew this. 'Lurconis' means... 'glutton'. And we'll find it, um...in the sewers."

"The sewers?" Joyce asked as she moved closer to Giles and he put an arm around her. "The babies must be so scared."

"These children are gonna die if we don't act now, okay, and think clearly. There is no room for mistakes. Besides which... you guys are just wigging me out." Buffy said as she glared at her mother and her Watcher.

"Sorry." Giles said softly.

"We'll behave." Joyce had to add.

Buffy nodded. "Giles, we're going to the sewers."

Her and Angel turned to leave and Buffy turned back to find Giles and Joyce kissing passionately.

"And don't do that!" Buffy added as she stalked out of the room. They broke off their kiss and reluctantly followed her.

Buffy dropped into the sewers with Angel right behind her. The Mayor and several other vampires looked up at them in shock.

"Hi." Buffy moved to start her attack, knowing Angel was flanking her. Behind her Giles and Joyce climbed down a few rungs of the ladder and dropped down the rest of the way.

As Buffy and Angel fight with the vampires, the Mayor quickly escapes down the tunnels.

Giles and Joyce run over to the table with the babies and wheel it away.

Buffy and Angel have staked several of the vamps already.

Giles and Joyce get the babies to a safe distance, where Giles leaves them and goes back to the fight. Buffy staked another vampire and then quickly moves to help Giles, who is being attacked by Trick. They all stop short when they hear a deep rumbling.

"What the bloody hell's that?"

"Lurconis, I'm thinking." Buffy says as a huge demon snake momentarily comes out of the tunnel and then quickly retreats.

Trick is unfazed. "Ordinarily, I like other people to do my fighting for me, but I just gotta see what you got."

"Just tell me when it hurts." Buffy said as her and Angel advanced on him from opposite ways.

Trick looks back and sees Angel, suddenly deciding he's in over his head. Trick makes a dash for it.

The tunnels start to rumble again and Buffy looks around frantically for a way to stop the demon. She spies a gas pipe above her and leaps up to grab it. It breaks under her weight, and gas begins to hiss out of it. Buffy angles the gas pipe into one of the torches, and it bursts into flames. She aims it at Lurconis, and the snake demon rears back and screams in pain. Buffy waves the pipe around until Lurconis is engulfed in flames. She pushes the gas pipe aside as the demon retreats back into its tunnel, screaming. Above her Trick smiles down through the open manhole. "You and me, girl. There's hard times ahead." He gets up and makes himself scarce.

"They never just leave. Always gotta say something." Buffy moans as Angel comes up beside her.

"Nice work." He comments with that little half smile she loves so much.

"You too." Buffy smiled up at him.

Angel slowly reached out and brushed some hair out of her face. Buffy felt her skin flare to life at his touch and she reached up to capture his hand, quickly kissing the palm of it before he could pull back.

Angel was filled with passion at her sweet gesture and leaned down to kiss her softly.

"Buffy and Angel sitting in a tree. K I S S I N G. First comes loves, then comes..."

"MOM!" Buffy broke the kiss and yelled before her mother could go any further.

"Sorry honey. I'm just so happy for you." Joyce said with a smile.

"But Joyce, he's..." Giles came up next to her.

"I don't care what he is." Joyce said cheekily as she took Giles's hand. "He makes my baby happy, and that's all that matters."

"Speaking of babies..."

"Yeah, we should get these little guys back to the hospital." Angel said softly as he and Buffy walked over to the babies on the makeshift alter. They each reached down to pick one up. Buffy's baby cooed at her and the Slayer let out a laugh. Joyce and Giles came up beside them and they headed towards the hospital with their precious cargo. Angel drove.

"Really?" The Slayer screeched into the phone later the next night. "You're sure?"

"Yeah, well, with everything Giles told us, especially how Angel saved the babies and all, I thought I'd look some stuff up just in case." The redhead sat on her bed, ejecting a yellow disk from her laptop.

"This is so awesome. Thanks so much!" Buffy screamed.

"Well, I'll let you go now. I'm sure you want to find him." Willow grinned.

"Yeah, I sure do. Love ya!" Buffy's face had erupted into a huge smile as she hung up the phone.

"Love who?" A jealous voice asked from behind her.

She whirled around to find Angel sitting on the ledge outside her window. "Oh, Angel. Come on in."

Angel climbed warily into her room. "Well?"

"Well what?" Buffy asked. "Oh, the phone. That was just Willow." She said hurriedly.

"It was?" Angel believed her, but...

"Yeah. See, Giles told the gang about everything that happened last night, and since you pretty much saved the day they really can't hate you anymore. And Will decided that since you were back she should check into exactly what that spell she cast did...and didn't have." Buffy waited for the last part to sink in.

She saw it on his face a few seconds later. "You mean?"

"No clauses. No problems with you being happy." Buffy said as she began to walk slowly and seductively towards him.

He grinned and reached out to take her into his arms.

"I love you." Was his only reply.

"I love you, too." Buffy smiled as they quickly closed the distance between their mouths. "And I always will."

The next morning, Buffy woke up in Angel's arms. And she knew that no matter what, that was where she would be every morning for the rest of her life.

Her life with Angel.

Buffy really liked the sound of that.

The End


	7. Revelations

Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: It's kinda like my blood (or my caffeine, LOL)-- a necessity if you want me to stay alive and write more. Plus it's just the polite thing to do.   
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different. Please don't sue, believe me it's not worth it. "The Heart Is Slow To Learn" is by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice (I think), and whoever else is associated with them. The TV program Buffy catches part of is ALW's 50th Anniversary Celebration.  
Rating: Same as the TV show  
Spoilers: Set after the third season episode "Revelations." Small spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened.  
Concept: Buffy's alone in her room the night after this episode ends. The gang's out at the Bronze, but Buffy doesn't feel like going, plus they're still really not super-happy with what she did and all. She's flipping channels on the TV, and guess what she finds? Oh, and of course, Angel shows up at her window.  
Author's Notes: This one is a fairly new one for me, it's a major songfic. I've had fics where I have songs in them, but never a short story where the song was so major. It's another fairly fluffy one, which is good because those seem to go over well.

Dedication: I almost never dedicate my fics, but this one is for uskohakuchan and BlackBAngel, both of whom have reviewed all the previous parts and loved them. Thanks so much to the two of you, you're what is keeping these parts coming out so fast.

There's Only You 

by Lady Callista

"Is there nothing on?" Buffy asked the TV in anger. She'd been flipping channels for almost an hour, back and forth, really not paying attention anyway. Her mind was too busy with things, mostly Angel.

She suddenly dropped the remote. As she bent over to pick it up, she heard the music begin for a song she had never heard before.

She looked up and saw a woman in a beautiful dress, alone, walking out onto a white stage. There were tons of people in formal stuff sitting on the steps leading down to the stage. The orchestra could be seen in the background. Buffy was just about to change the channel, assuming it was some kind of opera or something dumb like that, when the woman began to sing. Her words caught Buffy's attention.

The heart is slow to learn  
The heart is slow to learn  
These feelings that I feel  
Are foolish but they're real

Buffy put down the remote, not even looking at the TV anymore. She just listened as the woman sang. It was the perfect song for her mood this night.

I'm wise enough to see  
This love will never be

Angel slowly slid open the window of Buffy's bedroom. He had thought he'd find her sleeping, and that he could just watch her. He liked to do that sometimes.

Instead, he saw her lying on her stomach with her head at the foot of her bed, watching some concert. It wasn't exactly her kind of thing, he noticed quickly. But then he listened to the woman's words.

And each day's like the last  
When living in the past

"Living in the past. That's exactly what I'm doing." Buffy said softly to the empty room. "But what's wrong with wanting Angel back? I was so much happier then."

I know it's mad and you won't return  
But then as I have said   
The heart is slow to learn

Angel thought for a moment about letting her know that he was there, but then decided against it. He wanted to know how she was feeling, and it had been rather hard for them to just talk about things lately.

I'll never love, as I have loved you  
Why is love cruel, I wish I knew  
Say what you will, it doesn't matter  
Until I die, there's only you

"Until I die, there's only you." Buffy echoed softly, now crying. "Angel..."

Until I die, there's only you  
The heart is slow to learn

"Not just slow, it'll never learn." Buffy said.

Angel still watched silently, a tear running down his cold face. He wanted to let her know he was there, he really didn't feel right about eavesdropping. But he needed to know how she felt...

The heart is slow to learn  
You'd think there'd be a way  
To shut out yesterday  
Perhaps if I just thought  
Of all the times we've fought

Buffy smiled a little at this, probably remembering the very things that were running through Angel's mind.

I've tried all that, but no  
There's still no letting go  
I know it's mad and you won't return  
But then as I have said  
The heart is slow to learn

Buffy's head flopped down unto her arms, her body wracked with sobs. She still lay on the bed, and the bed was shaking slightly.

Why is love cruel, I wish I knew  
Say what you will, it doesn't matter  
Until I die, there's only you

Angel couldn't bear to watch silently any longer. He slowly crawled through the window, putting a hand uncertainly on her shoulder.

Until I die, there's only you  
Why is love cruel, I wish I knew

Buffy froze for an instant at the intrusion, but immediately knew whom it was. She continued to cry then and he stroked her back soothingly, all without saying a word.

Say what you will, it doesn't matter  
Until I die, there's only you

Buffy sat up slowly then, but collapsed quickly against Angel's chest, her body still wracked with sobs. Angel held her without comment, just letting her cry and offering what comfort he could.

Until I die, there's only you  
The heart is slow to learn

After several minutes, Buffy quieted. She stayed in the circle of his arms a moment longer, then slowly pulled away, bringing her hands to her face. He took both of her hands, bringing them down to her lap and making her look him in the eyes.

"How long were you here?" She whispered finally.

"Long enough to hear what you said. I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, I just..."

"Just came to see me. That's okay." Buffy said uncertainly. "I guess I should get used to that again, huh? To you just popping up on me?"

"Not if you don't want me to." He said slowly.

"If I didn't want you I'd just lock the window." Buffy said with a small smile.

He smiled in return. "What are you doing here all alone on a Friday night?"

"Well, the gang's all at the Bronze but I didn't feel totally welcome quite yet. It's just gonna take them some time. Besides, I wasn't exactly in the mood to put on my happy-Buffy-face."

"You're not feeling very happy right now?" He asked in confusion.

"Angel, I haven't..." Buffy trailed off.

"What? You can tell me."

Buffy didn't say anything, obviously embarrassed with whatever she was about to say.

"Buffy. Whatever it is..." He trailed off hopefully.

"I haven't really been happy since my birthday last year. I mean, yeah, I'm happier now because you're back and you've got your soul again and everything, but we're still not together. That was the only time I was ever truly happy, when I was with you. Any other times it was always like there was something missing." Buffy had looked away from him as she spoke, her words so soft he could barely hear her as she bared her soul.

"There was something missing." He said. She looked back to him, eyes filled with tears. "The other half of your soul." He told her as their eyes locked. Her heart melted at his words, and she fell again into his arms. The hugged and kissed, and when Buffy pulled away a long time later she rested their foreheads together and spoke softly. "I had a dream last night, you know. Giles told me that it was prophetic, at least the parts I told him were. I didn't tell him the rest, but that could be prophetic also."

"And what was that?" He asked her, wondering why she had brought this up now.

"I saw Jenny working on the restoration spell, but she was retranslating it. She changed it, Angel. The spell Willow did wasn't a curse, it was just a gift."

"You really think that's true? Not just something you dreamed because you want it?"

"Well, after you lost your soul, I dreamed about it happening and Jenny having to do with it. Somehow, I knew she was involved. So yeah, I've come to trust these dreams. Think about it Angel. Why would Jenny want to curse you? Why would she risk Angelus being released again if there was a way she could make you Angel for good?"

"She probably wouldn't, but Buffy, we'd have to be sure. What if you're wrong?"

"She is not wrong." A voice said.

Vampire and Slayer looked up and saw a light floating above them on the bed. The voice that came from it sounded way too familiar.

"Jenny?" Both questioned at the same time.

"That name served me in life." Was the only reply they got.

"You said I'm not wrong?" Buffy said after a moment's hesitation.

"I did. Angel is no longer cursed. There is nothing that will make him lose his soul."

"Why?"

"For the reason you gave. Plus the simple reason that you both deserve happiness and a fair chance at love. A chance many never get."

"I'm sorry." Angel finally managed to speak, thinking she was chiding over her lose of a chance at love with Giles.

"Do not be sorry Angel. You did nothing but fall in love, which can hardly be considered wrong. You never need to apologize for Angelus, for you are not him. And in the end you will both get what you deserve." Jenny said softly as the light above them faded. "Be happy..."

"We will be." Buffy whispered.

"Thank you." Angel added at almost the same time.

Buffy then turned slowly back into Angel's arms. "Now, where were we?"

Angel grinned, "I'm not sure I remember."

"Here?" Buffy questioned, kissing him on the forehead.

"I don't think so."

"What about here?" Buffy whispered into his neck as she kissed him.

"That's closer." He chuckled.

"Getting closer?" Buffy grinned as her lips met his.

"That's about right." Angel responded when she pulled away to catch her breath.

"Now the question is where to go from here?" Buffy pulled back, teasing. Angel reached out and grabbed her by the waist, quickly flipping her unto her back on the bed. She squealed at his unexpected move, then reached her arms up to pull him down next to her.

"Wherever you want to go." Angel whispered as he kissed her breathless.

"Anywhere, as long as you're with me."

"And where else would I be?" Angel countered as they kissed again and again.

"Anyplace without you is nowhere at all."

"I love you. Only you."

"I love you too." Angel whispered back.

And for the rest of the night, the lovers had no need for words.

**The End**


	8. Lover's Walk

Distribution: Ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: Please!!! I live on the stuff! Pretty please!  
Disclaimer: The movies and characters mentioned belong to whatever company produced them. All other characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different. Please don't sue.   
Rating: Same as the TV show  
Spoilers: Brief mention of Lover's Walk. No other previous episodes. No later episodes have happened.  
Concept: Suppose when Cordy and Oz came in to save Xander & Willow during Lover's Walk, they didn't find them kissing. Instead, X&W had decided not to be together, and that they were each in love C&O, respectively. B&A still have Spike's words fresh in their heads. No one can sleep. So they all end up at Buffy's house watching movies and talking about life.

Author's notes: This is the first true fluff piece I ever wrote. It's got a bit less of a plot than I might like, but it's got some cuteness, it's funny, and it has all three of my favorite couplings. (It's a little OOC for Angel to hang with them, I know, but I like it. Live with it. And yes, I know one of these movies wouldn't have been out on video during this time period, just work with me here, okay...)

**Sleepless**

by Lady Callista

Buffy and Willow were in her kitchen getting munchies ready when the doorbell rang.

"That must be Xander and Cordy, she was gonna stop to get the movies." Willow said.

"Angel!" Buffy called out, "Can you let them in?"

Angel got up from where he and Oz had been in the living room and let their friends in.

The four talked for a few minutes, Cordelia and Oz running interference between Angel and the one who called him Dead Boy, and then Buffy and Willow came out of the kitchen, arms pilled with food.

They set everything down on the table, and then Willow asked, "So, what movies did you guys get?"

"We got three, cause we couldn't decide. One's a romantic comedy, one's a sex-centered comedy, and one's just plain sex-centered." Cordelia told her.

"Names, Cordy?" Buffy said sarcastically.

"Can't Hardly Wait, American Pie, and Cruel Intentions." Xander supplied. "I wanted the last two-they've got some hot chicks in them man! And Cordy wanted the other."

"I vote for American Pie. That band camp girl's kinda hot."

Everyone looked at Oz in shock.

"Well, she is." The musician defended himself. "She looks kinda like Willow." He added.

Willow punched his arm lightly, "You better say that." She grinned. "But I wanna see Can't Hardly Wait. There's this one guy..."

"Sorry Will, but I'm with Oz. American Pie." Xander added, thinking of the band camp girl.

"Can't Hardly Wait!"

"Well, we'll get to watch all three. And we've all pretty much seen all of them, so does it really matter?" Buffy played peacemaker.

"I haven't." Angel informed her.

She tuned her still arguing friends out and turned to him, "Have you seen any of them?" she asked kindly.

"Just the one Willow wants to see. You dragged me to it, remember?"

"I guess I did..." Buffy then turned to her friends and said loudly, "That's enough!"

They all stopped and looked at the Slayer.

"Now, since Angel hasn't seen two of them, we're gonna let him pick. American Pie or Cruel Intentions?"

"Well," the vampire began, all eyes on him, "Since Xander wants to see American Pie..." He went over to the videos and picked up a box, "Cruel Intentions it is." He handed it to Buffy, who laughed as she went over to put it in the VCR.

"I saw that one coming." Cordy grinned at her pouting boyfriend. "Good choice though Angel. I think you'll like the girl in this one a lot."

"Only if she's exactly like Buffy."

Buffy felt her heart turn to mush.

"Well, she looks kinda like her. But attitude...no. Well, at least I don't think..." Xander said, looking skeptically at Buffy.

"NO!" Buffy said firmly. "I am not at all like her..."

"Well, a boy can dream...OWWW!" The last as Cordelia smacked him, hard, on the arm. "Sorry."

Everybody laughed.

Buffy went to the VCR and hit "play." She grabbed the remote, and began to ff through all the previews at the beginning. When the movie finally began, she turned and went to grab a seat. She had to grin at the sight that greeted her.

Oz sat on one end of her couch. Willow was sprawled out along the whole couch, her head resting in her boyfriends lap. Oz was whispering little things in her ear as he played with her hair.

Xander lay in the middle of her floor with Cordelia spooned in front of him. His arms were wrapped around her and her one arm held his closely to her. _'There's a shock,_' Buffy thought, 'Cordelia not only allowing a PDA but actually agreeing to lay on the floor. Guess the girl really is mellowing out a little.'

Then she turned to the love seat, where Angel sat. He looked slightly uncomfortable, he hadn't just hung out with her and her friends in, well, ever. With her, yes, all the time. But never just relaxed and watched movies or played games with the gang. Buffy began to wonder why she hadn't invited him before, it would have made her feel less like a fifth wheel.

She headed over and sat down next to him, keeping her distance slightly. She remembered this time last year she would have simply plopped down in his lap, knowing his arms would immediately be around her. Now she wasn't sure exactly how things were between them.

As Buffy sat down, Angel was slightly disappointed. He'd seen teens many times when he was out at night, many would be cuddled up with people who were just their friends. Just to have the comfort of another person. Especially after going through rough times. Even as he thought this, Spike's words echoed in his head.

_"You're not friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it kills you both..."_

Maybe his childe was right, he rationalized. A deep down part of him said, 'duh.'

But then again, why couldn't they be both? Lovers, but also friends. At least sharing the things friends did. It was worth a shot. It was better than the nothing they had had since the others had found out that he was alive again.

With these thoughts in mind, he reached over and put an arm around her. She stiffened slightly for a moment, as if fearing where the contact would lead. Then she looked at all her friends, curled up with their loves, and all her thoughts fled. She leaned comfortably into him, relishing the safe and protected feelings she always had when she was in his embrace. Everyone watched Cruel Intentions.

Hours later, Cordelia got up from the floor long enough to put in the second movie. She noted that Oz and Willow were already asleep on the couch. Xander wasn't, but she could tell he would be soon. So would she for that matter. She looked at Buffy and Angel then. Buffy was leaning against his side, and his arms were wrapped around her. Her eyes were closed, but Cordelia could tell she was not asleep, just enjoying the moment. Angel looked down into her face, with eyes only for her. Cordy wondered, as American Pie started and she lay back down in Xander's arms, why they had bothered to rent movies at all. By the time the movie was half done, everyone was sleeping except Buffy and Angel. And they weren't exactly watching it, each was too busy thinking about the other.

By the time Buffy returned from getting a soda and putting in the third movie, she decided that a little shift in position might be in order. It was probably a little more risky than the way they had been, but she longed to be close to him again. And it was safer here, with her friends around and mother asleep upstairs, than it would ever be.

So instead of sitting down next to him again she put down her drink and used her hands to lift his legs up unto the other side of the couch. Then she split his legs apart and settled herself between them, leaning back into his broad chest. His arms slid around her waist and she grabbed his arms and pulled them even tighter. His head came down over her shoulder.

"More comfortable?" Angel whispered.

"Much." She answered him. "I almost forgot how nice this was. Not to be worried about the future and the fate of the world, just to be happy how you are at the moment."

"World? What world?" He questioned with a grin.

"Exactly." Buffy said, turning her head to look up at him.

He looked down at her upturned face, locking eyes with her. She was so beautiful. "Buffy..." He whispered.

"We shouldn't, I know." She answered, slightly breathless. But even as she said that, she leaned up closer to him. She breathed him in deeply.

He leaned down and kissed her mouth gently. After only a second he pulled back and again looked into her eyes. The love he saw there almost blew his mind away.

He leaned into her again, kissing her longer this time. She turned in his arms until she lay facing him, their bodies pressed together. They continued to kiss, his hands roving across her back.

Willow woke up a little while later. She shifted her position, trying to remember where she was. Then she felt Oz's arm around her, saw the TV going, and remembered. She sat up slowly, leaving Oz to sleep. She glanced at the TV, noting the weirdly dressed, but very cute guy. And he was locked in a bathroom with a girl. Ah, she loved this part. She watched the rather long scene, then shifted position, trying to stretch her back. She turned a little then, continuing to stretch out cramped muscles. And froze.

Angel lay on the couch, and Buffy lay on top of him. His hands roamed her back, under her shirt, and her hands were tangled in his dark hair. They were totally making-out.

Willow grinned. She was so happy that they were back together. She couldn't believe that they hadn't fallen asleep like everyone else had, but then she thought about how she'd be in their situation. She'd be pretty sleepless too, especially considering the alternative.

Suddenly, she heard a noise coming from upstairs. Quickly checking her watch, she found that it was almost seven in the morning. She realized that Mrs. Summers must have an early day at the gallery.

Quickly getting up, she intercepted the woman at the bottom of the stairs. She had been heading for the living room.

"Willow? You're up already?"

At the sound of her mother's voice, Buffy froze. '_I'm so dead._' She thought.

"Yeah, everyone else is sound asleep." Thankfully, you couldn't see the living room from where they were. Finding her daughter making out with the older-vampire-guy-who-used-to-be-stalking-her probably wouldn't make the woman's morning. Or day. Or year for that matter. "Guess I just wasn't that tired."

'God bless you Willow.' Buffy said quietly into Angel's shoulder.

"I was gonna make some breakfast for you all before I left. Care to help?"

"Sure, Mrs. Summers. I'd love to." Willow said, maybe a little to quickly. Joyce looked at her strangely for a moment, then shrugged and headed for the kitchen.

Willow stuck her head back into the living room, whispered, "You owe me." And then followed Joyce into the kitchen.

Buffy grinned in reply. "And I'll find some huge, huge way to pay her back." She looked again at Angel. "Later." She started to kiss him again, pressing her body full length against him. They practically melted into each other, hands everywhere and mouths kissing deeply.

And they didn't stop for a long, long time.

**The End**

This is probably obvious, but just in case, for those of you who haven't seen the movies mentioned:  
Seth Green (Oz) is in "Can't Hardly Wait" as a very strangely dressed person  
Alyson Hannigan (Willow) is the 'band camp girl' in "American Pie"  
And Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy) stars in "Cruel Intentions" as a very, very naughty vixen.


	9. The Wish

Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: I love it almost as much as I love Angel in leather pants. So, pretty please?  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different. Please don't sue. The song "Back in Your Eyes" was sung by Eddie Maine on GH, which means that technically someone involved with General Hospital probably wrote and owns it. "Tell Me It's Not Too Late" was written by me.  
Spoilers: Set after the third season episode "The Wish." Small spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened.  
Concept: A karaoke contest at the Bronze. Guess which couple each sing it in? Another fluff.

AN: This is one of the most OOC things I've ever written, and, well, I'm pretty sure this one would never, ever happen, but I still like it. It's nice and fluffy.

**Back In Your Eyes**

by Lady Callista

Anyanka watched in confusion as Cordelia walked away from her, still babbling about what she would wish for if she could. She didn't understand what had happened to her locket or why she now had no wish powers.

Sighing, she decided she's have to go back to her own realm and figure it out. She almost died when she couldn't get back. Then she heard her own heartbeat and it all came together.

'Oh, crap!' She thought. 'Someone destroyed my necklace which means I'm human for good. Boy does this suck.'

Meanwhile, Buffy, Willow, and Xander sat on a bench not far away, discussing the Bronze's latest scheme to get more customers: A Karaoke Contest

."Are you two really gonna go?" Xander asked the girls.

"I am. Maybe I can find a song that'll make Oz take me back." Willow said.

"That's a great idea!" Buffy said.

"Get Oz to take me back?"

"Well, yeah, but I meant find a song for your guy. I think I'm gonna have to do that." Buffy was already thinking of songs to get Angel to come back to her. He kept insisting on the just friends thing, even though they both knew that Spike had been right and they'd never be friends.

That night after a quick patrol, Buffy and Willow headed for the Bronze.

"Have you decided what you want to sing yet?" Willow asked.

"No. I'm not even sure if I'm gonna sing. He probably won't even be there." Buffy answered.

"Yeah, actually he will." Willow said guiltily.

"Will!" Buffy turned on her friend. "Did you invite..."

"Well, I kinda told him that we were gonna be at the Bronze tonight and he should show because something important was going to happen."

"He still may not come. He's made things pretty clear."

"But Buffy, the way I said it I'm pretty sure he thinks it's a Hellmouthy thing. Which means he's gonna show."

Buffy only moaned in response and buried her head in her hands. "Then you better help me find a good song."

"But of course."

Twenty minutes later, Angel walked into the Bronze. He was alert and ready for anything.

Or so he thought.

He wasn't prepared to find Willow sitting alone at a table sipping a mocha.

"Willow? What's going on?" Angel asked as he sat down. "Where's the big danger?"

"You mean besides that guy trying to sing 'Livin la Vida Loca'?" Willow questioned with a grimace. "Actually, Angel, there's kinda no danger here."

"Willow..."

"Except for the kind the world is gonna be in if you and Buffy don't get back together. Cause as she once said, a cranky Slayer is a careless Slayer, and she..."

"Buffy doesn't want to be with me anymore, Willow. She's made that pretty clear. She just wants to be friends." Angel said sadly.

"Are you sure?"

"Well yes, she..."

"You're sure she's not just saying what she thinks you want to hear?" The witch questioned.

"Well, I'm pretty sure. I mean..."

"Then why is she up there?" Willow questioned with a grin.

"Huh?" Angel turned around in his seat just in time to see Buffy walk out onto the Bronze's stage beside the Karaoke announcer.

"And here is Buffy singing a very special dedication to her Angel." The announcer was saying just as the music for "Back in Your Eyes" started to play.

Buffy picked up the microphone and walked to the edge of the stage. She made eye contact with him as she began to sing.

_Raindrops on the windows  
Must be the angel's crying  
And every time the wind blows  
I feel the whole word sighing _

Angel looked at her with wonder. She wore black leather pants and a shiny silver halter top. She practically glowed, she was so happy as she saw him there. It was like she was singing for no one but him.

_I think I'm gonna wake up  
From this bad dream  
When the morning comes  
There's just one thing I need _

_I wanna see the love back in your eyes  
I wanna feel your touch again back in my life  
Baby, I've been so lost and I won't see the light  
Till I see the love back in your eyes_

Buffy walked back towards center stage as a brief musical part came up, and when she began to sing again it was with her back to the audience.

_Lonely conversations with just the moon to hear me  
Everywhere I see reflections of life without you near me  
I'm gonna do it, whatever it takes  
Only one thing I need to give me the faith _

She turned around as she began to refrain again, and everyone in the audience could see that she had begun to cry. Her voice remained strong and beautiful, however.

_I wanna see the love back in your eyes  
I wanna feel your touch again back in my life  
Baby, I've been so lost and I won't see the light  
Till I see the love back in your eyes _

As she finished the last line, she switched the way she was holding the microphone, shifting her hands so that her right hand was in plain sight. Angel noted that her claddagh ring was back on her hand and that the heart faced in toward her.

_Till the love is back in your eyes_

As she replaced the microphone in the stand she said into it, "I love you Angel." The audience burst into a thunderous applause. She had an incredible voice and there had been such emotion behind the song.

Buffy barely heard the applause, however. She moved quickly off the stage and into the wings, staying there for several minutes to compose herself before heading back towards the table.

When she reached the table, she found Willow alone once again.

"Where'd he go?" Buffy asked her friend.

"He asked me how he could ever put how he felt into words, he said he's not that good with words and all. I just told him to do it the same way you had."

"Angel's gonna sing?" Buffy squealed, turning eagerly in her seat to see three girls just finishing up an interesting rendition of "WannaBe."

"Guess who we've got up here next everybody? It's Angel. Yes, Buffy's Angel. And he says that this song is for her. Lucky girl."

Angel took center stage to thunderous applause, obviously because everyone had seen just how much Buffy loved him. For him to do something like this made all the girls in the audience melt. Of course, they were still just a little bit green over it.

Angel locked eyes with Buffy and began to sing.

_Rain fell gently down last night  
I heard it's soft and pretty sounds  
It called unto my troubled heart  
And soothed a soul too numb to weep _

Buffy already felt the tears welling in her eyes, and he hadn't even begun.

_I know I said this couldn't work  
That ours was an impossible love  
But as I pondered things I wondered  
Is it more impossible than living without _

_Without your smile my life has no light  
Without your touch my life has no warmth  
I go deaf from missing your lilting voice  
I go blind when I can't lose myself in your eyes  
And I go crazy without you in my arms_

As he sang, Angel held his hand out to her. Buffy hesitated only a moment as she made her way towards the stage, still lost in his eyes. The crowd parted like the red sea for her.

_I know I said this couldn't work  
That the stars were against our fate  
But life without you here with me  
Is just too unbearable to take _

She made it up to the stage and he reached down to help her up. Buffy stood next to him, still holding his hand. The rest of the world vanished.

_I want to try again, my love  
There's nothing I want more  
There's just one thing I need to hear  
Tell me it's not too late _

His eyes locked with her, pleading with her. After her song, he pretty much knew the answer, but he wanted to be sure.

_Without your smile my life has no light  
Without your touch my life has no warmth  
I go deaf from missing your lilting voice  
I go blind when I can't lose myself in your eyes  
And I go crazy without you in my arms _

Tears were streaming down Buffy's face as she continued to look into his eyes, eyes which held a few tears themselves.

_Tell me it's not too late _

As the song ended they were greeted by silence. The audience could feel the vibes coming off of them and no one would do anything to interrupt this moment.

"It's not too late." Buffy whispered, her voice catching in the microphone.

Angel leaned down and crushed her to him in a passionate kiss.

The audience burst into applause and Buffy blushed sweetly as her and Angel moved off the stage.

No one else even bothered to sing after that. Everyone knew there would be no comparison.

Buffy and Angel were tied for first place in the Karaoke Contest.

And when they went home that night, they were both happier than they'd been in a long time. They were finally back together, where they belonged.

The End


	10. Amends

Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: Please!!! It makes me write faster when I know people are enjoying them.   
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different. Please don't sue.  
Rating: Same as the TV show  
Spoilers: Set right after third season episode "Amends." Spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened.  
Concept: Just what were Buffy and Angel talking about during their walk through the snowy streets of Sunnydale? And what happened after that walk?

Author's Notes: This is another fluff piece, showing yet another way of how B&A could have gotten together. It's one of my shorter works, but I love it.

**Snowfall**

by Lady Callista

Hand in hand, the lovers walked through the street of Sunnydale. At first they didn't speak, they just enjoyed being together and walking in the snow, something Buffy had only seen once or twice before.

Suddenly, Angel had a small desire to revert to his childhood. Grinning, he let go of her hand and walked hurriedly towards the sidewalk, bending down to scoop up a handful of snow.

"Angel, what..." Buffy was suddenly cut off as a snowball whacked into her shoulder, knocking her back a step. She looked over at Angel, who was watching her carefully for a reaction. He looked like a little kid.

"Oh, you wanna play?" The Slayer grinned devilishly and knelt down to pick up a handful of snow. She packed it tightly into a ball and tossed it in Angel's direction.

Thrown even without her full Slayer strength, it hit him hard in the chest. He retaliated.

They spent several moments making and tossing snowballs at each other, each one hitting with perfect accuracy. Buffy giggled when she hit Angel and shrieked when she was hit. Angel just laughed, his normally wry chuckle having suddenly grown to an all out laugh.

Buffy suddenly changed tactics, no longer making snowballs. Instead, she was making it her goal to avoid letting Angel hit her with one. His next several snowballs still hit as she tried to dodge them, but she finally managed to avoid one, then two, as they flew towards her chest.

"Missed me, missed me, now you gott..." Buffy started to chant without even thinking about it, then realized what she was saying and stopped.

"Now I got what?" Angel asked in confusion, stopping mid-throw.

"Ummm...nothing. Sorry. Just an old kiddie thing..."

"Buffy, what is it?"

"Nothing. Look, forget I said anyth..." She said in embarrassment. She trailed off as Angel hit her with yet another snowball, this one squarely in the face.

"Oops, sorry." Angel said. "I didn't mean to..."

This time it was his turn to trail off as Buffy hit him in the face with a snowball.

While he was still clearing the snow from his eyes, he felt a figure abruptly tackle him, throwing him to the ground. He reacted instantly and rolled over, pinning the figure to the ground. Then he heard a grunt from under him and realized it was Buffy that had jumped him.

At the same time as he realized it, Buffy gathered her strength and pushed him off of her. He rolled to the side and she was immediately on him again, taking a handful of snow and shoving it down his shirt.

"Oooo, okay...cold!" He said, all the while laughing. "I'm gonna get you for that one."

She grinned as she took off running. He paused to grab a handful of snow, then took off after her.

She wasn't trying all that hard to get away, and he caught up with her rather quickly. He used one arm to snag her around the waist, the other one dropped the snow down the back of her top.

"Cold. Cooold." Buffy jumped, wiggling against him as she tried to get the snow out. But she was laughing at the same time. It felt so great to just be a kid again, not having to worry about anything or anybody else. And being with Angel was certainly a plus.

Angel groaned deep in his throat as she wiggled in his arms, her back and hips rubbing against him. She suddenly seemed to realize what she was doing, as well as the awkward position they were in, and went very still.

His arms still held her, it was like he couldn't make them let go. She slowly turned in the circle of his arms until she was facing him. She put her hands against his chest. She looked up, their faces inches apart.

"Angel..." She whispered. She was silenced as he bent down to kiss her. He kissed her softly at first, but it soon turned into much more.

Buffy pulled away, breathless, a moment later.

"I love you so much." Angel whispered to her then, echoing words she had spoken to him as she tried to keep him from killing himself.

"I really do." Buffy responded, letting him know that she hadn't just been saying that to keep him from walking into the sunrise.

"Did you mean the other thing you said?" He asked, unable to look in her eyes.

"What thing?"

"That we could do it together?" He quoted her.

"Fight together?" She asked. "Of course I meant it Angel. I know how hard...okay I don't know, but still...I wanna help you, be there for you. I'll do anything. If you want me to." She said the last in a small voice, as if she was afraid he didn't.

"Want you?" He asked. "God, Buffy, you know I do. I wish you could be there every step of the way, it gives me such strength just knowing you're there backing me up. I just didn't think you'd want to after all I..."

"Hush." She whispered. "You didn't do anything. Angelus did. And he's not here now, you are. And you always will be."

"Only if we don't..."

"I know. And you know what? I don't care."

He looked at her skeptically.

"Really, I don't. Angel...making love with you...it was so incredible. It meant more to me than anything ever has." She blushed. "But even if we can never do it again, it doesn't change how I feel about you. And there was so much more to our relationship, it's not like that's all we had. We had so, so much more that made me happy. I could never love anyone but you, and I'd never sleep with anyone I don't love."

He looked at her in wonder of how accepting she was.

"So either way, I'm never gonna sleep with anyone again. At least this way I get to spend every moment with the one I love, even if we can't..." She finished.

She didn't even get to finish her sentence as he swept her up into a passionate kiss.

"Wow. What was that for?" She asked several minutes later.

"For being you. For being the wonderful, forgiving, loving person that you are." Angel answered her, making her blush again.

"So, you really think we can make this work?" She asked quietly.

"I think that together, we can do anything."

"Cool." She said.

"And you know a good way to start out?"

"What?"

"Tell me what you were gonna say. Why did it embarrass you?" Angel asked.

"Huh?"

"Missed me, missed me, now you got..." He quoted her again. "What's the rest of it?"

"Now you gotta kiss me." She said breathlessly.

He complied.

"I love you." He whispered when he released her a few minutes later.

"I love you. Forever." She said back.

"Forever." He agreed, kissing her again. "This is the perfect way to spend it."

The End


	11. Gingerbread

Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: Please?  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different. Please don't sue, I'm only a high-schooler without a job anyways. Parts of the binding spell are from the Buffy book "Prime Evil." (Although I used it for a slightly different purpose.) The rest is mine, which is why it may not translate well to anyone but me, my Latin is rather rusty.  
Rating: Same as the TV show  
Spoilers: Set after the third season episode "Gingerbread." Spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened.  
Concept: Buffy talks to Angel once again, but instead of 'slaying being fruitless' and all, this time it's about her mom trying to burn her at the stake. At least, that's where the conversation starts...

Author's Notes: I'm up on my soapbox a little at the beginning of the story, sorry. Can't think of anything else for this one, other than to once again thank the few people who are reviewing every part.

**A Fairy Tale Come True**

by Lady Callista

Having given up the idea of trying to explain to the parents what had happened (most of the parents didn't remember or if they did wouldn't admit they did), Willow, Buffy, and the rest of the gang walked out of Town Hall and into the night.

"'Never again the burnings.'" Willow quoted, finding it ironic that MOO's "Never again" slogan was part of one already used by witches themselves. "Boy, some of my Wicca groups could have a field day in court with this one."

"Yeah, discrimination is bad enough, but being burned at the stake? That's overkill." Buffy added.

"But it wasn't really the parents fault." Giles reminded her. "They had no control over what they were doing."

"Yes, they did." Buffy protested. "If they had just stopped to think..."

"That would be a first." Xander replied glibly.

"True." Oz added.

"Yeah, well, deal with it." Cordelia replied. "Even if they had stopped to think, that wouldn't have mattered to most of them. People have never liked witches."

"She's got a point." Willow told Buffy. "Throughout the ages, witches, or people accused of witchcraft, have been tried and convicted for all sorts of ridiculous things. That's what we're trying to put a stop to these days."

"Well, you ever need help stopping it, give me a call. I'll personally beat-up any and every one who says something bad about witches."

"Thanks Buff, but we're not gonna win anything that way." Willow smiled.

"Yeah, I know. Just a thought." Buffy grinned back.

"Well, you better all be getting along home." Giles said, getting into his old car. "I'll see you all tomorrow. And we'll try to find a way to undo Amy's Hecate spell." He added, noting that Willow still held the rat wrapped in the bottom of her shirt.

They all said their goodbyes, and Oz, Willow, Xander, and Cordelia all climbed into Oz's van. Willow looked back for Buffy. "Aren't you coming?"

"Nah, I think I'm gonna patrol for a little while. I'm not exactly looking forward to going back to downtown MOO." Buffy quipped.

The others nodded and said their goodnights, driving off to leave Buffy alone. She waited until the van was out of sight, then headed in the opposite direction. She had no intention of going on patrol that night. She was headed instead, towards Crawford Street.

Upon reaching the mansion, Buffy went slowly up the front walk and knocked on the door.

Angel opened it after only a few seconds. "Buffy. What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Buffy responded. "I just wanted to talk with you some more." Angel motioned for her to come in, and then led the way to the living room. When they were comfortably seated on the couch, he turned to face her, asking, "What did you want to talk about?"

"Well, we could start with MOO along with most of the town trying to burn Willow, Amy, and me at the stake."

"Trying to what?!?" Angel responded. "And what the heck is MOO?"

"MOO- Mothers Opposed to the Occult. Founder- Joyce Summers. First task- Burn three girls at the stake."

"But...but you're all okay?" Angel reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, very concerned.

"Yeah, we, we're all fine. The gang arrived in time to stop the fire and kill the demon that had taken control of the town." At his puzzled look, Buffy briefly explained what she had found out since the last time they talked.

"You're sure you're okay?" Angel's hand ran slowly up and down her arm, and Buffy shivered slightly. Her eyes closed for a moment when he reached her shoulder again and his thumb began to slide over her neck.

As a small gasp escaped her lips he abruptly pulled his hand away. "Sorry." He whispered.

"I'm not." Buffy managed to say a moment later. She locked eyes with him then, seeing in his face everything she knew must also be in hers at the moment.

"Buffy...we..." Angel started to say even as his lips descended unto hers.

"Shouldn't...I know." Buffy replied even as she tilted her head and leaned up to meet his lips.

They kissed, softly at first, then with a growing intensity. Finally pulling away from him to catch her breath, Buffy whispered, "I love you." before she could think about it and not say it.

"I love you too." Angel replied, again without thinking.

Those words hung in the air for a moment, simmering along with the waves of desire rising off of the lovers. Then they slowly pulled themselves away from each other.

"Buffy, we..." She put a finger to his lips, "Don't. Don't say that this can't work. Or that we can't. Because I know that Angel. And at the same time, I know it has to work. And we can't not be together."

"But Buffy, the curse..."

"We'll find a way around it. Or we won't. I don't care anymore, Angel. I really don't. Cause I've tried the normal boyfriend and the normal life, and guess what? It sucks. Totally. Plus, even without you, it's not possible. I'm never gonna be normal, Angel. And if normal means without you, then I'd rather be abnormal. As the Slayer, that's pretty much what I am anyway." As she spoke, Buffy took both of Angel's hands in her own, willing him to understand.

"You've thought about this a lot, haven't you?" Angel questioned softly.

"Yeah, I have. And I've decided I'll take whatever I can get where you're concerned. Plus, if you really think about it, since I love you, even if I tried to see someone else, I'd never love them. So I'd never sleep with them. So why not be with someone I love and can't, then someone I don't love and don't want to. At least this way I have the love."

"You'll always have my love, regardless of anything you do."

"I know that, but this staying away from each other and being friends, it just doesn't work Angel. I love you too much."

"Same here." Angel confessed. "I just thought it would be easier for you, but...it's been killing me to be away from you so much. And then to see you and not hold you and kiss you..." Angel trailed off as Buffy leaned back into him, kissing him softly on the lips. They both held back this time, knowing they couldn't lose themselves in the kiss. But it was still so good just to be together.

"We'll make this work."

"We will." Angel replied as he kissed her again.

_A few weeks later _

"I found it. I found it!" Willow yelled excitedly, looking up at Buffy.

"You did?"

"Yeah, it was in another of the texts Jenny had translated. I finally thought to look on that disk, just in case there was more than the curse."

"And there is?" Buffy asked her friend.

"Yeah. I'm guessing Jenny was planning on doing both spells. First, "curse" Angel with his soul. Then bind it to him so that the curse has no conditions. It's really a simple spell too. Some Latin, some Romani. Only a few supplies."

"But it needs a dark moon." Buffy read over her friend's shoulder.

"Yeah, but that's in three days." The witch replied knowingly.

"Oh! This is awesome!" Buffy reached down to give Willow a hug. "I've gotta go tell Angel."

"Go. I'll make sure I get everything we need. Only three more days!"

_Three days later _

"Ego excite meus Dominus! Ego excite meus Domina! Necto suus anima contra acerbus, contra malum! Imperium iussu una!" Willow chanted in Latin, already glowing with power. Angel sat across from her, translating roughly in his head as she spoke. 'I call forth my Lord! I call forth my Lady! Bind his soul against dark, against damage. Control at the command of the one.'

Buffy sat outside the circle, having no clue what Willow was saying. She simply trusted that the red-head knew what she was doing.

'Bind his soul to his body.' Angel continued to translate to himself as Willow spoke, now in Romani. 'Let nothing separate the two, for the two have become one. The soul is a part of the vampire. They are one! For eternity!' Willow was now shouting, bringing with her voice the power of the spell.

Angel glowed golden for a moment, then silver, as both Lord and Lady added their power to the spell.

Buffy watched with amazement as everything in the circle glowed gold, silver, then turned to a blinding white. Buffy's eyes snapped closed. When they opened again, the light was gone. Angel's eyes glowed a second longer, then returned to their chocolate color.

"Suus anima esse sui! Pro infinitas infinito!" Willow shouted a final time.

'My soul is mine. For eternity.' Angel repeated to himself in shock. "For eternity." He said again, outloud. He moved immediately towards Buffy, but Willow told him to stop. He waited as she closed the circle and thanked the elements and the Deity. When she nodded that it was safe, he moved to Buffy and swept her up into his arms.

"I love you." Each said as they kissed. There was nothing that stood between them now.

And so they lived happily ever after.

The End


	12. Helpless

Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: Please!!! This is only my second fluff, so feedback is welcome and needed.  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different.  
Rating: Same as the TV show  
Spoilers: Set right after third season episode "Helpless." Small spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened. Oh, and both X&C and W&O are back together by this point in my universe.  
Concept: After her rather traumatic experiences; Xander, Cordelia, Willow, and Oz take Buffy to the beach for an afternoon to try and improve her outlook on birthdays. And guess who makes an appearance once the sun goes down?

AN: Fluffy, cute, and slightly OOC. But still one of my favs from this series.

**The Beach**

by Lady Callista

Xander, Oz, and Cordelia looked around the beach carefully. They had the blankets and umbrellas set up, there was volleyball down the sand a little ways, and there was a large stack of presents waiting for the Slayer, who Willow would be bringing shortly.

"I just hope this cheers her up a little." Xander said hopefully.

"I still think we should have skipped the presents." Cordelia said clippily, "The girl doesn't have the best luck with birthdays, we should have just made it a regular party."

"This is better though." Oz said, "Show her that birthdays can be fun!"

"Shhh...here they come."

"Willow, what are we..." Buffy trailed off upon seeing all her friends and the set-up that they had. "Wow, you guys did all this for me?"

"Yup, all for you." Xander went over and gave her a big hug. "Happy Birthday Buffy!"

Oz followed suit, giving the Slayer a hug before going over to stand by Willow.

Cordelia sat where she was, saying simply, "Happy Birthday."

Willow grabbed Buffy's hand, pulling her over by the blankets and sitting her down. "So, presents now."

"You guys didn't have to do all this, really..."

"Sure we did. You need a happy outlook on birthdays." Xander put in.

"And some cool stuff." Cordy gestured towards the presents.

"I already got the best present..." Buffy trailed off, thinking of the book of beautiful poetry Angel had given her. Not to mention what he had said...

"And what's that?" Willow asked, although seeing the look in her best friends eyes she knew it was Angel-related.

"Umm...oh, just all you guys. A birthday with al..with my friends. It's cool." Buffy finished lamely.

"Sure it is." Cordy said, only half convinced. She, also, had read the look in the girl's eyes.

"No, really, my last birthday get-together ended in disaster, so I didn't even try it this year. But this is neat. Just a whole afternoon at the beach with my friends." In the sun. She added to herself sadly. But then she smiled, determined to have some good old-fashioned fun with her friends. "So, presents now?" She asked with a grin, trying desperately to forget about her birthday last year.

"But of course." Xander sat down on the other side of her from Willow and began handing over gifts.

Buffy opened each one slowly, taking the time just to enjoy all the neat things.

Willow and Oz had given her some CD's, including one homemade one of the Dingos that Oz still insisted was no good, unless you only liked 5 chords. Buffy grinned and told him that she was sure she'd love it.

There was also a new shirt, a burgundy velvet midriff top.

"This looks like..." Buffy began.

"Yeah, I realized I never returned it. So I bought you a new one. Not exactly the same but..." Willow trailed off, looking at Oz.

"But she couldn't return the original cause I love her in it." Oz finished, blushing slightly.

"Is that so?" Buffy asked as she laughed. "Remind me to let Will raid my closet more often. I've got some other things that would look great on her." Oz grinned but didn't reply.

The next thing Buffy opened was a necklace. It was, as were most of her necklaces, a cross. But yet it looked a little different...

"It's a solar cross." Willow explained. "I thought you might be sick of regular ones, plus it's a little something to remind you of your Witchy friend. I hope it works the same way on vamps as other crosses."

"It should." Buffy said. "It's so pretty, thanks."

Next, Buffy opened Xander's gifts. There was another CD along with some videos. She looked happily at the CD, then grinned when she came to the videos.

"An American Werewolf in Paris. John Carpenter's Vampires. The Scooby Doo Movie. Thanks, Xand." She laughed, each movie had something to do with one or all of the gang. "Clueless?" She looked at the last one.

Xander flipped his head sideways to indicate his girlfriend. Everyone laughed, except for Cordy of course, who punched his arm.

"Now, my stuff." She said, not laughing.

Buffy grinned as she was handed Cordy's presents.

First she opened several new hair pieces, including sticks made out of wood.

"Hey, cool. I had one of these but had to use it. Thanks."

Next came an outfit, probably 100 in style, but not ranking high on Buffy's scale. "Thank Cor, it's cool." She said, not knowing what else to say. And it was cool. She just wasn't sure how she'd wear something like that and not get picked up by the cops.

"And last but not least." Cordelia handed her a small box, wrapped in baby blue paper.

"Oh my gosh!" Buffy screeched. "Is this really from Tif..."

"Just open it." Willow prompted.

The guys just looked on in shock. How had she known where it was from? Buffy tore off the paper quickly, coming to a small velvet box. She opened it, barely breathing, and the gold lettering on the top inside spelled out "Tiffany's." It contained a beautiful silver charm bracelet. That had no charms.

"This is so pretty Cordy, thanks. I love it..."

"There's a little more than that." Willow interrupted, pulling a small plastic bag out of her pocket. The other three did likewise.

"We each picked out a charm that would remind you of us."

Cordy gave hers over first, and Buffy pulled the charm out of the bag. It was of a miniature tiara.

"First time I found out who you were." Cordy remembered the May Queen dance. "Plus, I am Queen C." She referred to her license plate and everyone laughed, thinking of a time not long ago when they would have used a letter other than C to describe what kind of queen she was.

Oz gave his next, and it was a small wolf. "No explanation needed there." He said quietly.

Next came Xander's, which was a small heart that said "Always." Both of them smiled as they remembered the first time he had given her that. Cordy glared at him sharply, but he simply said "Turn it over." On the other side was the word "Friends."

"Thought that would make it a little more clear. That's not what I meant the first time, but that's all that it means now." He told Buffy with a smile.

She nodded, glad he had said it that way. There was only one person she wanted "always" with, and she could never... 'Stop!' She told herself. 'You're having fun. You've gone almost 20 minutes without thinking of him. Keep it up.'

She nodded again and smiled, almost successful about forgetting a certain someone as she looked around at all her friends.

Willow handed her charm over last.

Buffy opened it slowly, and then laughed out loud. "Where did you find this?" She held up the charm for all to see. It was a larger charm that the others and held two figures. One was a girl dressed as a ghost, the other was a girl with long curly hair in a pouffy formal gown. They held hands and had huge smiles on their faces.

"It's actually two separate charms. I had them melded together and the hands remade. I think the jeweler thought I was really weird." Willow grinned, glad that Buffy liked it.

"I love it, it's great. They're all great. Everything is. Thank you all so much!" Buffy said, giving each person, even Cordelia, a huge hug.

"So, cake now or cake later?" Xander asked a moment later.

"Later." Buffy said. "Who's up for a game of volleyball?"

They all laughed, glad that she was having such a great time. Oz grabbed the ball and they headed down towards the court.

An hour later, Buffy was exhausted. It had been girls against guys, but even with that small advantage, having no Slayer strength left her exhausted. She begged out, wondering how the others could still have the energy to play. She heard them switching partners as she left, making it each couple against the other.

Buffy walked slowly over to where the gang had left their stuff and grabbed a water bottle from the cooler. She drank it down in a few sips, then simply relaxed on the blankets.

She looked out over the water and daydreamed. She imagined how much more fun she could have had if Angel had been there. As great as it was hanging out with her friends like this, it just wasn't the same without him. It wasn't that she felt like a fifth wheel; the gang was carefully avoiding PDA's, making it seem merely like they were all friends and nothing more. It was just that she never had quite as much fun doing anything if Angel wasn't there.

For as bad as her last birthday had been with the vampire crashing her party and the Judge and all, the actual day itself had ended happily.

That day she had been given the most perfect present, one that could never be topped as long as she lived. Not only had Angel given her the Claddagh ring, he had actually said he loved her. The first time he ever said it, and it was her birthday. And then he had shown her just how much.

Buffy smiled as the memories washed over her and just lay there enjoying them.

While the Slayer slept, her friends finished their game and began to work on a campfire. They weren't certain if it was legal on this particular beach, but there was no one around so they decided to risk it. When it was roaring and the food was ready, Willow went over and woke Buffy up.

"Hey Sleeping Beauty."

"Hey..." Buff opened her eyes. "How long?" She groaned.

"Only an hour or so. You were pretty pooped after that game."

"Tell me about it. Plus yesterday was pretty exhausting." Buffy remembered.

"Yeah, well, forget all about that. Fire's on and we've got food."

Buffy grinned and got up to follow her friend over to the fire.

The sun had just set, and the fire warmed the cooling mid-January air. Everyone sat around the campfire roasting hot dogs on sticks, and just enjoying the time to chat about things non-hellmouthy.

Willow suddenly stopped talking mid-sentence and stared at a point over Buffy's shoulder.

"What?" The Slayer asked, but didn't turn around.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. I just remembered that we forgot...some stuff...over by our other stuff...I'm gonna go...get the stuff. You guys wanna help? With the stuff?" She looked pointedly at everyone and they rapidly got up to help.

Buffy didn't bother to turn around, the little feeling in her heart told her exactly who she would find. "Really subtle guys." She called at the departing forms. "Hi Angel."

"Hi Buffy." He said as he came up and sat down next to her.

"You just happen to come by or did they tell you where we'd be?"

"They didn't, your mom did. I went by your house to see you and she said your friends were having a little beach party for you."

"Yeah, they thought it would cheer me up. And it kinda did, I had fun." She admitted. "I just wish they'd invited you too. That would have been so much more fun." She added softly.

"Well, they probably thought you'd be better off away from me. I didn't exactly give you the best memories on your birthday last year..." There was pain in his voice.

She turned and made him look in her eyes, "Yes, you did Angel. My birthday last year, well, it was everything I had ever dreamed of. Granted, the next morning and day were the uber-suck, but, well, that night was perfect." She felt a little strange since they'd never talked about it, but she had to let him know. "The ring, what you said, us... Everything was perfect."

He smiled a little, "Yeah, it was, wasn't it. Oh, and before I forget, I have something else for your birthday."

"Angel, you already got me the most perfect..."

"But Willow told me about a little thing they were all doing for you, and said I could get something for it too if I wanted."

"The charm bracelet?" She asked him.

"Yeah, the charm bracelet." He said, pulling a small box out of his pocket. She opened it slowly, and it held two charms. "Two because I wasn't sure if you'd want to wear the one, so just in case..."

She shushed him, "They're both beautiful."

One was of an angel, halo and all. "In keeping with Willow's theme of charms that remind you of the person." He said, "Now, granted I don't have a halo, but..."

"In my book you do. It's perfect." She then pulled the second charm out of the box and a tear ran down her cheek. It was the same symbols as on her Claddagh ring; the hands, crown, and heart.

"I wasn't sure if you'd want it." He glanced down at his hand, where the heart on his ring still pointed in. "I noticed you don't wear the ring anymore, I thought maybe this way it would be a little less obvious to everyone, but you'd still know..."

She put a finger to his lips, quieting him. She then reached down to the chain around her neck, and pulled the long chain out of her shirt. On it hung her Claddagh ring.

"After, after you turned...I took it off. I kept it in a jewelry box, kept it as my only reminder of our love. Earlier this year, I had a boyfriend...you remember me talking about him. Before I decided to go out with him, I had to forget about my past. Cause I knew if I compared anyone else to what we had...well...there would just be no comparison... I brought the ring to the mansion, and I left it there, facing downwards towards where you..." She trailed off, beginning to cry at her memories.

He reached out hesitantly to put an arm around her, and she leaned into him. When her tears quieted a moment later, she continued, "The spot where I put it, it's the exact same spot where you came back. The shadow burnt into the floor...that's where I put the ring. I found it on the floor of the mansion that day when I chained you up there. It's like that's what brought you back. It was so amazing. But at the same time, I knew if I suddenly started wearing it again, someone would notice. Will, Cordy, even the guys, they all knew what it meant. And that it was from you. If I suddenly started wearing it, they'd wonder. I guess even once they found out, it was just easier this way. I didn't have to see it every day as I reminder of what we'd lost, and yet I always had the comfort of knowing it was with me."

He had been silent as she spoke, watching her with unconcealed love. Now he turned her face so that it faced him again. "I can understand that." He said softly. "I almost took mine off too, I considered the chain idea as well. Then I realized that no matter what I'd never get through a day without finding something that reminded me of you, so it might as well be this ring."

"I know what you mean. I was always thinking of you too." Buffy said softly.

Their eyes were still locked, and now they slowly leaned closer together. Ever so slowly, heads leaned and eyes closed. They kissed each other softly on the lips. The kiss grew longer and deeper until finally Buffy had to pull away to catch her breath.

"I love you." She whispered before her head could talk her out of saying it. A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth as she echoed the words he had spoken to her a year ago, "I try not to but I can't stop."

With a smile, he showed her that he remembered that night as well as she did, "Me too. I can't either."

They kissed a moment longer, then she pulled back. She reached up to her neck to unfasten the chain. She pulled her Claddagh ring off the chain and put it on her finger, heart pointing in, just as she had worn it for that all too brief period last year.

"You guys can come on back now. It's probably getting pretty cold over there." Buffy called out to her friends who had remained away from the fire and the lovers.

The four came over quickly, warming themselves by the fire. Seeing Buffy snuggled up into Angel's side, the others no longer worried about making her feel like a fifth wheel. Each girl snuggled into the arms of her guy, and the three couples sat around the campfire.

As the waves whooshed along the beach, Willow glanced around at all of her friends. She suddenly noticed the firelight shining off of a ring on Buffy's right hand. She shifted her position so that she could see it better. The Claddagh ring shone in the light, matched perfectly by the one Angel wore. Willow smiled a huge smile, one almost as big as the ones Buffy and Angel wore.

Buffy had just gotten the greatest birthday present a girl could ever have, for the second year in a row.

Buffy and Angel were together again. Whatever else happened now didn't really matter. When Buffy was with Angel, she was in a good mood.

And a Slayer in that good a mood could take on the world...and win.

Their day at the beach had turned out even better than she could have hoped.

Willow lay back in Oz's arms, suddenly knowing in her heart that all was right with the world.

The End


	13. The Zeppo

Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: Please!!! It'll make me write other stories faster if my head's still big from knowing you liked this one.  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different.  
Rating: Same as the TV show  
Spoilers: Set right after third season episode "The Zeppo." Small spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened.  
Concept: Buffy goes to Angel's after school to make sure he's all right after what happened the previous night. 

Author's Notes: Title comes from Buffy's quote "Angel was only out for a few minutes. Longest of my life." in "The Zeppo."

**Longest Moments**

by Lady Callista

"So, we gonna do the study thing after school?" Xander asked her friends as they filed out of 8th period with all their classmates. "Cause, with the Chem test tomorrow and all..."

"Sorry Xand, but I've kinda got other plans after school. Maybe tonight though, if there's not to much 'activity' out and about." Buffy said as they headed for the library. Her mind was totally elsewhere, like it had been ever since she found what was on Willow's computer that morning.

"But Buff, Chem test. Class which you are flun..." Xander cut in as he held the swinging door for the girls and they ducked under the 'closed for repair' sign.

"Yeah, I know. But some things are just more important than school."

"And that would be?"

"A very good question." Said a very British voice as he stepped out from behind the stacks that he was trying to put back into order.

"Giles." Buffy said quickly, "Umm...what's a good question."

"What is more important than studying?"

"Studying?" She stalled

"For Chemistry, I believe Xander said."

"Yeah, well, there's just this thing..."

"What thing?" Giles asked, sidestepping the large hole in the floor and coming towards them.

"My mom." Buffy chirped out. "She needs my help with some things. And I've been so busy slaying this past week, especially with what happened yesterday and all..."

She caught Willow's eye, giving her the I-need-to-see-Angel look. And after what they had just found out that morning, Willow knew exactly why.

"Yeah, her mom has been kinda upset with her. I mean, she's never home and all." Willow added hesitantly. She still didn't like lying, especially to Giles, but she realized that it would be easier than watching Giles's face if he heard the name "Angel." He was still having a hard time accepting that the vampire was back, let alone that he and Buffy were still "friends."

Giles nodded unhappily. "Very well. Just make sure to get some studying in later. Skip patrol tonight if you must, but you cannot allow your grades to slip any further."

"Yes Dad." Buffy retorted as she headed for the door. "Catch you guys tomorrow."

Buffy approached the door of the mansion on Crawford street slowly. She was slightly nervous, and spent a moment giving herself a pep-talk. 'What is with you Buffy? It's just Angel. You've seen him a ton of times since he came back. You're just being a friend. Just checking to make sure he's okay. It's gonna be easy. It's gonna work out for you. Especially with what Willow told you. But what if he doesn't...Breath Buffy.' She finally reminded herself. 'God, and if I keep talking to myself; Days of Our Lives, here I come.'

She finally reached up and knocked on the door. There was no answer. She reached for the door handle, turning it slowly to find it unlocked. She stuck her head in, careful to not let in more sunlight than was necessary until she made sure he wasn't in the foyer. "Angel?" She called softly, not wanting to break the heavy silence of the mansion.

There was no answer, so she slowly crept inside. She peaked in the living room and found nothing at all. She went next to the bedroom, realizing that it was probably still kind of early for Angel to be up.

"Angel?" She called as she went into the bedroom. "Are you aw..." She trailed off as she saw him on the bed, sound asleep.

She stood there silently for a minute, just looking at him. He was so handsome. She looked at him, feeling the desire building inside of her. She walked over to the side of the bed. Her eyes trailed over his face, with it's perfect features, up to his thick and slightly tousled brown hair. Seemingly of it's own volition, her hand reached out and slowly touched his cheek.

His face turned slightly into her hand, relishing the touch, and she almost melted.

She continued to stroke his cheek as she sat down on the bed. His eyes slowly opened, coming to settle on her. They were still half-filled with sleepiness and made him all the more desirable to Buffy.

"Buffy? What are you doing here?"

Her fingers trailed for a moment over his lips, still lost in her dreamworld, and then she abruptly pulled back. "I was just, uhh, checking to make sure you were all right. You know, after last night and all. I wanted to come by, I've been thinking of you all day." And thinking about what we can...

"And I've been dreaming of you all day." He said, totally honest and still not totally awake.

She just stared at him, not quite believing it.

It suddenly seemed to register with him what he'd said, and he looked at her sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm not totally awake yet, just forget I..."

"Forget you said that. Never." Buffy whispered, still staring into his eyes. He reached out then to take her hand, and just held it for a moment.

"You said you came by to check on me. I'm doing pretty good." He said finally, starting to get out of bed. The sheets fell down to reveal a bare chest.

"Umm, Buffy..." He looked over to the pair of jeans sitting on the chair in the corner.

"You sleep n..." She trailed off. "Okaaaay." She went over and grabbed the pair of pants and set them on the bed, then stood with her back to him. She heard him pulling them on, then heard the sounds of him getting up and walking to the closet. "You can turn around now." He said.

She did so, seeing for a second his marvelous six-pack before he pulled his shirt on all the way.

It flustered her for a second and she couldn't think of anything to say. She knew what she wanted to say, and do, but just couldn't bring herself to it. Finally, she came out with, "Yeah, well, I just came over to see that you were okay, which you obviously are and all, so I guess I was kinda worried for nothing, I didn't really mean to wake you up, I'm sorry I came here, I...and I'm babbling now so I'm just gonna go..." She turned, face red, and started to leave.

"Buffy, wait..." Angel said, moving quickly over to take her by the shoulders. He turned her around so that she was facing him. "What's wrong?"

"Wrong? Nothing." She said, not looking in his eyes.

He tipped her head up so that she was looking at him. Buffy let her face by tipped up, almost melting as she met his chocolate eyes. "Angel, I..."

"You what?" He whispered, trying hard to concentrate on her words. It made it really hard with her this close to him.

"I can't do this anymore." She whispered, pulling back from him slightly as she tried to think.

"Do what?" Angel asked.

"This!" She said, gesturing with her hands. "See you all the time and fight demons and hellmouths with you and..."

As she trailed off she tried to look away but Angel wouldn't let her. Finally, she finished softly, "And pretend we're just friends."

"We are friends." He said, stroking her hair softly as he tried to calm her down.

"But not JUST friends!" She said exasperatedly. "I've been trying to convince myself and everyone else that we could be, but Spike was right all along. Remember what he said at Christmas?"

"That we'd be in love till it killed us both." He quoted softly.

Buffy nodded. "He was right. At least in my case." She looked up at him sadly, as if fearing he didn't still feel the same way.

"Mine too." Angel said finally. "You know that. But we can never..."

"Yes, Angel. We can."

He didn't say anything, just looked at her in confusion.

"Ever since you came back, Willow's been working on translating the spell of restoration that she did. When you were...in hell...it didn't really matter much what she'd done. But when you came back, she started working again with Miss Calendar's program to translate the old texts. Luckily she had the program on disk. And the stuff Miss Calendar had saved on that yellow disk Willow used to do the spell, well, it was different from the one the gypsies used the first time." Buffy said it all in one breath, knowing she had to get it out before she froze up again.

He was silent for a moment as he took that in. Then he put it together with her earlier statement and asked, "You mean it didn't have..." He trailed off, not able to believe it.

"Any conditions." She finished for him. "Willow finished all the translations and research this morning. Jenny wasn't trying to curse you, she just didn't want any of us hurt any more. She knew how much it hurt me with you like that...and she knew how much in love we were. To make you good again and then say we could never...Well, Jenny wasn't like that I guess."

"So, Willow's spell?"

"Willow's spell gave you back your soul. Gave. No conditions, no clauses. No nothing. It's a permanent lock." She told him, looking straight into his eyes.

She saw that settle in, and slowly his eyes changed. They always held a hint of sadness around her, that look of wanting what they could never have. Now that look was gone. And it was replaced by joy, total love, and a little bit of wonder.

"You're sure?" He said, running a hand down her cheek.

"I wouldn't risk it if I wasn't." She whispered, rising up onto her tiptoes. He leaned down then, kissing her with all the love and passion that was within him.

"I love you." Angel whispered as he released her moments later to catch her breath.

"Just kiss me." She retorted, echoing words she had spoken the first time they made love.

He didn't argue, kissing her again as they slowly backed up towards his bed.

Buffy never made it to patrol, or study, that night.

She never even made it home.

But in a sense, she did. Because she was home. She was back in Angel's arms, and she knew that for as long as she lived, that was where she would always be.

The End


	14. Bad Girls

Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: Love it as much as I love Angel in leather pants.  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different.  
Spoilers: Set after the third season episode "Bad Girls." Small spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened.  
Concept: Unable to keep Faith's murder to herself, Buffy goes to Angel for comfort and understanding. 

Author's Notes: The title means "Seize the Night" just as the "carpe diem" phrase Buffy used in "Welcome to the Hellmouth" is 'seize the day'. And I'm aware that the plot is really, really shaky on this one, it was one of the later ones I wrote and I was kinda running out of original ideas.

**Carpe Noctem**

by Lady Callista

Buffy sat alone in her room for over an hour after she got home from Faith's. She couldn't sleep. Faith's words echoed over and over in her head. "Want. Take. Have." Buffy couldn't believe what she'd done. "You killed a person!" A few tears rolled down her face. "No, you don't get it B. I don't care."

She knew that she had to talk to someone. She thought briefly of calling either Willow or Giles but knew that neither of them would understand. Willow really wouldn't after how Buffy had been blowing her and Xander off to be with Faith.

There was only one person she could go to. He'd seen the blood after all, and she was pretty sure he already suspected something.

Buffy knocked loudly on the mansion door. When there was no answer she knocked again.

Finally, she opened the door softly. "Angel?" She called out into the foyer. When there was no answer she went in. A quick search revealed that she was alone in the mansion.

Buffy went slowly into Angel's bedroom and curled herself up on the bed, his scent comforting her. She cried herself to sleep.

Angel entered the mansion through the back door an hour or so before dawn.

He sensed that someone else was there and immediately raised his guard. He stalked through the house as he tried to locate the intruder.

As he neared his bedroom he heard a familiar voice mumbling. Both his hearing and his other senses told him that this was Buffy, but that made no sense. Why would she be here?

He opened his bedroom door and was greeted with a sight that inflamed him to his very core. Buffy lay on his bed.

But the love and desire he felt were soon overcome by feelings of protectiveness as she seemed to be having a bad dream. Buffy tossed and turned nonstop, mumbling things that he didn't understand. Tears streamed from her closed eyes.

Angel went to her quickly with the intent of waking her up. Just as he reached the side of the bed Buffy jerked upright, wide awake.

"Faith...NO!!!" She screamed at the memory of Faith killing the man that night.

"Buffy..it's okay." Angel was immediately beside her, pulling her into his arms. She clung to him as tightly as she could. Her entire body was shaking.

"It...an accident." He could hear her mumbling. "Faith didn't mean to...blood...we didn't want to...accident...Faith...man..." Angel tried to make out what had happened but didn't have a clue. He rubbed her back and whispered nonsense as he attempted to calm her down. After several minutes she had cried herself out and lay still in his arms. He still held on to her, whispering that she could tell him anything and that everything would be all right.

Finally Buffy pulled back, just enough to look him in the eyes. "I'm so scared, Angel. I don't know what to do, I...I just have to tell someone."

"Whatever it is I'm right here." Angel whispered as he took both her hands in his own.

"When you saw me tonight...in the alley...the blood...it wasn't mine."

"I know." Angel said simply.

"You..."

"It didn't smell like you."

"Oh." She took that in. "The blood...it belonged to a human person. At least it did until Faith killed him."

"Faith..." Angel couldn't believe his ears.

"It was an accident. We were fighting vamps and all of a sudden she turned to stake one and instead of going poof it started bleeding..." Buffy trailed off as she started to cry again.

Angel pulled her back into his arms and waited for her to stop crying. When she did, he asked her gently. "Does anyone else know?"

"No...I...I didn't know how to tell them. Faith, she said we'd both get in so much trouble and we just shouldn't tell anyone. She even dumped the body. She doesn't care, Angel. She killed a human and she doesn't even care." Tears were still streaming down the Slayer's face.

Angel gently tried to wipe them away as he said softly, "I think a part of her does, deep down. It's just that she's a much different person than you. Your sense of right and wrong is so high because it's who you are. And you knew this was something you shouldn't keep quiet about. That was good, Buffy. And I'm glad you came to me." He whispered the last.

"You were the first person I thought of." She whispered just as softly.

He smiled at that answer and kissed her softly. He pulled back after only a few seconds though, making sure it didn't start to lead somewhere that it couldn't.

"But we have to tell Giles. The Council will have to know, I'm guessing. I'm sure they'll know what to do." Angel told her carefully.

Buffy nodded, saying in a small voice, "You'll come with me to tell him?"

"I'll be right beside you." Angel said as he took her hands again. "Do you want to go now?"

"Yeah. Get it over with." Buffy said with a grimace. "Let's go."

They left the mansion hand in hand.

When they arrived at Giles house a few minutes later they were very surprised to see the downstairs lights on.

"Wonder what's up." Buffy said as she knocked softly on the door.

They heard a commotion from inside as if things were being moved around and all, then Giles opened the door carefully. When he saw it was Angel with a very distraught Buffy he moved aside to let the couple in.

Buffy walked slowly into the living room to be surprised by the sight of Willow sitting on the couch pretending to read a book and looking totally like she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Okay, what gives?" Buffy asked, sniffing the air as she noticed a strange scent.

"Something that requires lavender, poppyseed, and something else I can't identify." Angel said from behind her.

"Turmeric." Willow said automatically, before thinking about what she'd said and slapping a hand over her mouth.

"Okay, what magick have you been two been working?" Buffy said with a moan.

"Willow was working." Giles said as he came up next to her. "She merely wanted me to check and make sure her spell would work as she wishes it to." He added evasively. "Now, what has happened? Why are you here?"

Buffy explained, more calmly this time, exactly what had happened that night with Faith. Both Willow and Giles listened attentively while Buffy spoke, Angel's hands resting on her shoulders for moral support.

"Oh, my." Was all Giles had to say when Buffy had completed her story. "I'm afraid the Council must be notified of this at once. They will be the only ones who can handle her."

"We sort-of figured that." Angel spoke. "That's why Buffy told you."

"I'm very thankful you did. Now, I must phone the Council at once. As much as they dislike me at this moment, I'm afraid there is no choice..." Giles trailed off as he went into the other room to make the call in private.

As soon as he left, Buffy turned her attention to Willow. "So, what spell are you working on now?" She said lightly.

"Um...well...it's..." Willow had that hand in the cookie jar thing going again.

Buffy picked up a sheet of paper that was sitting on the table. It had a circle drawn on it with various items in certain places. At the bottom was some type of chant, but in a language Buffy didn't know. Willow tried to take the paper back but Buffy moved to keep it out of her grasp.

"Angel? What's it say?" She asked as she handed the paper back to him.

'Lavender purifies the unbeating heart.  
Harmony of self is restored as two become one in part.  
Poppies do your magickal deed.  
Take all the evil and make it heed.  
Turmeric will break a spell  
And by no means return the aspect of hell." Angel translated slowly.

"And what exactly is this for?" Buffy asked curiously. "Come on Willow, spill. It's obviously something that involves me or you wouldn't have looked so guiltily when I walked in."

"I didn't want to tell you. Because I'm not sure if it'll work. And I didn't want you two to get your hopes up and then..." Willow trailed off then.

"Us two?" Buffy pointed at Angel and then at herself. "This has to do with both of us?"

Willow sighed and let it all out. "Lavender is for purification and harmony of self. It momentarily purifies the demon part of a vampire and joins it back with the human part. In a nutshell, it brings both to the surface at once so that magick can be done on the vampire without it killing the person doing the spell. Poppyseed, like the poppy flowers in The Wizard of Oz, induces sleep. It can be used with great accuracy, effectively putting the demon to sleep so it doesn't bother the person with bloodlust. And turmeric breaks a previously cast spell, or in this case a certain clause in a previously cast spell."

Both Angel and Buffy stared at her with amazement and disbelief on their faces.

Finally, Buffy came out of it enough to speak, "You can really do that?"

"I already did." Willow said softly. "I had just completed the spell when you knocked on the door. The problem is I still have to find a spell that will allow me to see if this one worked or not."

"I think it did." Angel spoke up.

"You do?"

"Well, I feel different. I don't really know how, but I do. I was so worried about Faith and Buffy and all when we came in that I didn't really pay it any mind, but something has changed."

He looked at Buffy and Willow could see a long-dead hope flicker back to life between them.

"But you guys won't...um...until I can be sure and all, right?"

Buffy grinned slightly at Willow's embarrassment. "Of course not. It's too big a risk."

"Well, good, then...I'll let you know as soon as I find a suitable spell." Willow said, aware the neither Buffy or Angel really registered her presence. They looked at each other as if they were the only two people in the world.

It took Willow all of two days to find and perform the spell that confirmed that Angel's soul was bound to him and his demon was permanently on siesta.

It took Buffy all of two minutes after hearing the news to show up on Angel's doorstep with a huge smile on her face.

Neither of them wasted time with words, Angel simply pulled her into the house and brought her to him in an earth-shattering kiss. And they certainly didn't stop at that.

**The End**


	15. Consequences

Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: Pretty please? I love it almost as much as Angel loves Buffy.  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them.  
Rating: Same as the TV show  
Spoilers: Set after the third season episode "Consequences." Small spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened.   
Concept: Another Buffy & Angel talk. The title and idea come from the phrase:

_"They say that every cloud has a shiny silver lining.  
That behind every stormy cloud, the faithful sun is shining.  
I believe that this is true-That every broken heart will mend,  
That no matter what the problem, Good will triumph in the end.  
For there's a spring in every winter and a dawn in every night.  
In the midst of every darkness there's a candle shining bright.  
For every heavy burden, there's an understanding friend.  
For every darkened tunnel, there's a light around the bend."_

Author's Notes: Umm…enjoy. And keep reviewing! I've never gotten into triple digits of reviews, and that's my goal for this "story." Oh, and the two Gaelic endearments Angel uses are "my beloved" and "my heart." And the reason I posted two stories in less than 12 hours is that I'll be gone for the weekend, so don't expect any updates until Monday. Enjoy your weekends, I know I will! 

**A Silver Lining**

by Lady Callista

"I still can't believe the Council would do that to her." Buffy ranted.

"They were trying to help, Buffy." Angel said as he placed a gentle hand on her arm. "They just don't know how."

"But we did!" Buffy brushed his arm away and began pacing. "Or you did at least. You were getting through to her. And then..."

"And then the Council came. And destroyed her." Angel said, defeat in his voice. "I'm afraid any trust she still had in any of us is gone now because she assumes we called them."

"I know. And that's what I hate." Buffy said softly. "Cause despite everything, she wasn't really a bad person. In different circumstances, that could have been me."

"No, Buffy. Never."

"Why not?" She asked defiantly.

"Because some people just don't have that in them. Accidentally killing someone? Yeah, that can happen to anyone who fights as much as you have to. But killing with no remorse, well, that's a rare kind of person who can do that."

"But I kill every night." Buffy said.

"You kill evil." Angel clarified. "And most of what you kill has already died once. Or it would kill innocent humans if you didn't. It's your job Buffy. And there's nothing wrong about it."

"But I could have been Faith. If it hadn't been for Giles, and my friends, and you, who knows where I'd be today. I have so many people to help me and get me through this. Faith doesn't have that, and it's a big part of how her character was made. What if I didn't have all of you?" Buffy was crying softly, never truly having realized how much she took everything for granted.

Angel put a hand on her arm again and this time she didn't brush him away. She slowly went into his arms and let him hold her, comforted by his mere presence.

"If you didn't have all of us, you'd still be who you are. You're a wonderful, beautiful, and loving person who has nothing but light inside her." Angel whispered as he stroked her back. "You could never be like Faith, no matter what happened."

"That means so much coming from you." Her words were slightly muffled against his chest.

"It's true, ionúin." Angel said into her hair. "You could never be anything evil."

"Do you really think you could have helped Faith?" Buffy pulled back slightly to look him in the eye as she asked.

"Yes, I do. Because I'm the only person who knows how she feels."

"To have done the things you've done, and care." Buffy quoted his long-ago words.

"Exactly." Angel whispered. "I wish I could have helped her."

"So do we."

Both Buffy and Angel looked up in shock as a woman's voice spoke from in front of them.

"Given time, you would have helped a great deal." A male voice said.

"Who are you?" Buffy asked the two bluish-colored beings.

"We are Oracles, sent here by The Powers That Be with a message for our greatest warriors." The female answered.

"A message?" Angel asked in shock. The Powers never consorted with mortals.

"Yes, warrior." The male answered him. "The Powers wish you to know that only together are you such great warriors."

"We're both good on our own." Buffy defended.

"But even when you fight alone, you draw strength from each other and from your love. You each have an extra special reason to go on living." The female said with a smile. She seemed much happier with this message than the male did.

Buffy and Angel looked at each other but didn't deny it.

"The Powers feel it is jeopardizing our cause for the two of you to not be together." The male said in a bored tone.

"So they have made it so you can be together in every way you desire." The female picked up the thought.

Buffy was slightly creeped out as they talked this way. Their words barely sank in with her but they sunk in very quickly with Angel.

"They..." He could barely speak.

"You are mortal, warrior. You still possess your strength and every other ability you need to be a perfect companion to the Slayer." The female said.

"But now you will age, eat normal food, be able to go out in the sunlight, and do any and all other things as a mortal would." The male picked up her sentence.

"The demon?" Buffy asked quietly as she finally got it.

"The demon is in hell enduring forever the punishments it's crimes deserve." The male informed her.

"Thank you." Angel whispered.

"Do not thank us. All credit goes to The Powers who have decided your fates." They said together as they slowly faded away.

"You know, if someone had come yesterday representing Fate, I would have probably staked them. Who knew they'd bring this kind of news?" Buffy said nervously.

"Buffy..." Angel looked at her lovingly. "Fate is what brought us together."

"What?"

"Imagine how many things had to go wrong somewhere for a Slayer and a vampire to end up as soulmates." Angel said as he closed the distance between them.

"I guess you're right." Buffy whispered, awed by the nearness of him and his newfound warmth as they joined hands. "I just wish they'd decided this sooner. Like last year before my birthday."

Angel took a step back at her words. "I never said I was sorry."

"You don't have to, Angel. It wasn't you, I know that." Buffy said, a lone tear spilling down her cheek as she remembered his words.

"It wasn't true, you know that, right?" Angel said gently, knowing what memories were on her mind.

"Hmm?"

"What he said that next day." Angel could barely stand the memories of her face. He knew just how much Angelus had hurt her.

"It..." Buffy was again in tears.

"Buffy, being with you was the most amazing experience of my life. It caused me total happiness. Which you know, cause you know that's what made me lose my soul."

"I knew that. Deep down, once Jenny said total happiness is what had broken the curse, I knew that Angelus had been lying. But it was still there, in the corner of my mind..." Buffy managed to stop crying and she looked at him with a small smile.

"Mó croí." Angel whispered as he slid his hand along her cheek. "I love you."

Angel's words erased any nagging worries Buffy may have still had. Any rational thoughts flew right out of her head as he leaned down to kiss her on the mouth.

And they didn't stop with just a kiss.

**The End**


	16. Dopplegangland

Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: Please!!! It'll make me write other stories faster if my head's still big from knowing you liked this one. This is also the first fic I've written that isn't exactly B&A centered, so I'd love to know if people still liked it.  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different. I've quoted parts from two books, "Imzadi" and "Triangle: Imzadi II" without permission, hopefully the author will forgive me if he ever finds out. It's really a tribute to him for writing such great novels.  
Rating: Same as the TV show  
Spoilers: Set right after third season episode "Doppelgangland." Small spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened.   
Concept: Willow's recovering from both the spell she did and the effect of meeting her counter-self, so Buffy and Xander are on their own for a night. As they're hanging out, they have a little heart-to-heart, which includes all things Angel. And you'll never guess what Xander tell Buffy. 

Author's Notes: I had a great weekend, although with several more complications than I would have liked. Anyways, here's the next part. The title comes from Star Trek: the Next Generation episodes, as well as two wonderful ST books by Peter David based upon that one word. The meaning of Imzadi will be given in the story if you're unfamiliar with it. This one's a little different than the rest of the series, cause it doesn't center on B&A, per say. So bear with me, I know Angel's not exactly a main character in this one, but I still think it's good. Do you?

**Imzadi**

by Lady Callista

"You're sure you don't wanna see a movie or something?" Xander asked Buffy as they relaxed in his bedroom that night.

Oz had taken Willow home after the spell to return the double was completed, she was still stunned by the effects of seeing her doppelganger.

And that is how it happened that Buffy and Xander were alone on a Friday night with nothing to do.

"No, I'm not really up for an...What's this?" Buffy had been wandering around his room looking at things, and her comment was directed to a pair of hardcover books that sat on his nightstand.

"Oh, um nothing...just..." Xander hurried over.

"'Imzadi'" Buffy read. "And 'Triangle: Imzadi II.' Triangle? As in soap-opera love triangles? God Xand, what are you reading?" She laughed.

"They're based upon characters in the second Star Trek series." He huffed.

"Still look like romances."

"Well, in a way they are. Mom thought they might do me some good, what with how I've been moping around after Cor and all. She's trying to restore my faith in soulmates." Xander admitted.

"Soulmates? Is that what Imzadi means? I'm assuming it means something and it's not some alien's name or something."

"Well, not quite...yeah, I guess it does mean soulmates. Here, read..." He opened the second book and looked for a page. "...this." He said, pointing to a certain part.

_"I am asking you a straightforward question. What means 'Imzadi'?" _

_"It's...a term of endearment. It means 'beloved.'" _

_But Worf shook his head, clearly refusing to believe it. "No. That is not all. Not from the way she said it. She gave it a significance beyond a simple endearment." _

_"Worf, this is silly. Nothing is going to be accomplished by---" _

_"WHAT DOES IT MEAN?" _

_She was taken aback by what she saw in his eyes. There was a cold, burning fury. She wasn't intimidated, she didn't think he was going to hurt her. Instead, the anger seemed directed inward, as if he was furious with himself over something that was eating at him. She drew herself up, steadied her chin, and said, "All right. It has a secondary and...deeper meaning." _

_"And that would be--?" _

_"'The First.'" _

_"The First." It took a moment for him to understand, but then he did. _

_His eyes widened. "Are you saying that Commander Riker...he was your..." _

_She nodded. "But it's more than that. It's not just the first person who captures your body. It's the first person who captures you...well...your soul." _

_"Your soul mate."_

"Wow." Buffy said as she finished reading the part he had shown her. "There's a race that actually has a word for that. Go them."

"A word for what?" Xander asked, confused by the far-away look in her eyes.

"A word for all the things that can't be described. You read how hard it was for that chick to define Imzadi to that Woof guy. It's cause being soulmates can't be described with words, you...you just know. There isn't really a definition. You soulmate may not even be the first, or the tenth, or even the hundredth person you sleep with. It's just what she said, the first person to capture your soul. Your one and only true love."

Xander got the feeling that she was no longer talking about the Star Trek couple, but he decided not to ask. This was the easiest way for them to talk about her and Dead Boy.

"You think that kind of love exists?" He asked carefully.

"Yeah, I do. I know it does." Buffy said as she paged through the book carefully. "Look at this..." She began to read from a later point.

_"I commit to the Klingon code of honor, to Deanna, and to our life together." _

_"Interesting order that you put those things in Worf." Riker noted..."If you knew anything about love, you'd know that she comes first, always. Always." _

_"If you knew anything about honor, you would know that there are things more important than love."_

Buffy laughed a gallows laugh then. "Honor." She made a motion of tossing it out the window. "Who cares about your honor if your love is gone? This Worf guy is such an idiot."

"He's not an idiot Buffy. He just has a different perspective. He's from a different race of people, and they look at things differently."

Buffy just looked at him and read from the next page.

_"We're Imzadi, Worf. It means--" _

_"I know what it means. Lwaxana told me." _

_"Knowing it intellectually isn't enough. I don't expect you to understand." _

_"Because you believe I am stupid?" _

_"No!" shouted Riker, fed up with Worf's defensivemess. "Because you've never felt about anyone in your life the way I feel about Deanna! Not if you were willing to let her die! No matter how much I tried to force myself to think that it was over because I wanted it to be so, the fact is that we are, now and forever, Imzadi."_

"Was willing to let her die?" Buffy almost screamed. "You're supposed to be willing to die FOR the one you love, not..."

"Buffy, you don't know any of the characters involved. If you knew them..."

"If I knew them, I would probably still think they are all stupid. This Worf guy for not understanding what love is. Riker for trying to forget about his true love, trying to turn his feelings on and off when it suited him. And Deanna for letting him do it. If they were Imzadi, how could she just let him leave her and..." Buffy continued to rant, but stopped making sense. It was obvious to Xander that she wasn't going off on Deanna or Riker at all, but was comparing them to her and Angel. It wasn't a perfect comparison, but it was pretty close.

Buffy still ranted away, by now in tears and barely aware of what she was saying.

Xander went to her hesitantly and put an arm around her. She curled into him, letting herself be comforted and just having a good cry.

When she seemed like she was done crying, Xander spoke softly. "But the story has a happy ending." He said. "Well, not actually this book, but the characters on the show. Riker and Deanna end up getting back together."

"They do?" Buffy asked softly.

"Sure they do." He said with double meaning. "They're soulmates. Of course they'll end up together."

"Are there any more good quotes in there?" Buffy asked, wiping her face with her sleeve.

"Well, not really in the second one. But the first one has a few things to say on soulmates." He stayed with her on the abrupt switch of topics, just going with whatever she wanted.

"Can you find them?"

He nodded and began to turn pages. "If you don't mind a slightly smutty part..." She shook her head. He read...

_In that moment they knew all there was to know of each other...body and soul, flesh and spirit, all combined and permeating every inch of both of them. Instead of moving away from each other, instead of resisting the pull, they gave in to it completely. They complemented each other, became each other, filling out each other's needs and rejoicing as the pressures built in them. Throughout the Jalara Jungle it seemed that all noise had ceased. That there was nothing in that jungle, nothing in the planet, nothing in the universe except the two of them and their discovery, their admission of their mutual need and hunger. _

_The pressure built beyond their ability to contain and they released, clutching each other, as if hoping they could meld their bodies into one as seamlessly as they had with their souls. And somewhere, somewhere deep within Riker's mind, merged with his spirit, a word echoed. A word that he had never heard before. A word filled with mystery and promise and a future... _

_And the word was Imzadi._

Buffy was silent for a moment, then whispered, "That's not smutty. That's beautiful."

"You really think so?" Xander asked her.

"Yes, I do. Maybe because I know exactly how they feel." She continued. "Although there's nothing to keep them apart except their own stupidity. Why can't I be like that? If that's all that was keeping us apart, I'd just bash some sense into him and that'd be that."

"You would?" Despite himself, Xander found himself grinning slightly at the thought of Buffy bashing some sense into Angel.

She only nodded.

"Okay, then, I probably shouldn't say this, but I'm gonna anyway. And I know how weird it's gonna sound coming from me, but..."

"What is it?" Buffy asked.

"Just go over and bash some sense into him." Xander said before he could rethink the idea. "It's so, so obvious to everyone how you two feel, and I think that your feelings are more important than all the things that are keeping you apart. I mean, so you guys can't, you know...but who really cares. You had a great relationship before that happened. And since you're not exactly a slut I can't see you sleeping with someone you don't love, and you'll never love anyone but him, so either way you don't get any. But at least this way you're happy cause you're with him...and did I just say that?"

Buffy looked for a second like she was about to punch him, but then everything he had said settled in and she grinned. "You really think so?"

Xander looked into her eyes, reaching out to tuck some hair behind her ear, "I think any guy who doesn't want to be with you is certifiably insane." He whispered honestly.

She looked at him for a moment, realizing just how much he loved her. If after all that Angel had done, Xander could put all his hatred aside and tell her to be with him because he knew it made her happy...

"I love you, you know that, right?" She said finally. He knew how she meant it.

"Yeah, I know. Back at ya girl." Xander said. "Now go find him...wait a sec; first, read him this." Xander opened the book to a different page and copied what looked like a poem onto a piece of paper.

Buffy took it, gave him a grateful hug, and raced out the door.

"I am so a glutton for punishment." Xander whispered after she had left. "But she deserves to be happy, and I know that'll never be with me so it may as well be with Dead Boy."

He felt strangely better than he had in a long time. His mom had been right. The book had reaffirmed his faith in soulmates. Even if she wasn't his own.

Buffy walked slowly up to the mansion's door and knocked. When Angel opened the door, she said nothing, only handed him the piece of paper.

He motioned her in curiously, but didn't ask. He closed the door behind her and then looked down at the piece of paper, reading it slowly. Tears came to his eyes, and a few ran slowly down his cheeks. When he was done, he looked up at Buffy slowly.

"Buffy...I..." He had no words. Angel pulled her into his arms then, both of them crying. "I feel the same way." He said slowly a moment later. "But we can't..."

"Yes we can Angel. Just hear me out." She reworded Xander's earlier comments about how she'd never be with anyone else anyway cause she'd only sleep with one she loved and she'd never love anyone else so why not just be with Angel.

"Wow. That...that never even occured to me. How'd you think that one up?"

"Doesn't matter. It's true you know. I'll never love anyone else anyway, and I don't care if we can't make love. I love you, so much, and I know you love me. Why do we need more than that?" Buffy replied.

"I don't. I just want you to have..."

"A normal life!" Buffy replied. "Well, I've been there and done that and it sucks, Angel. It really does. I don't care what my life is like as long as you're in it." She almost cried again.

"You're sure?" He asked.

"Yes, I am." She looked him in the eyes.

"Okay then." He said softly.

"But why won't you...okay? Did you just say okay?" She stopped her rant.

"Yes, I did, my love." Angel whispered. "I wanted you to have a normal life, a normal guy. But if that's not what you want, who am I to go against you?"

"I love you." Buffy answered, leaning up to kiss him on the lips. He leaned down to accommodate her, and just before their lips touched, he heard her whisper a word. It was something he had never heard before, but just the way she said it brought tears to his eyes. It was like he knew it's meaning, even though he had never heard it before. There was no definition, no other words to describe it. He simply whispered it back, knowing to the depths of his soul that is was true.

"Imzadi."

His arms wrapped around her, and the paper fell to the floor, momentarily forgotten.

It lay face up, telling of the depths of her love for him and the meaning of their new word.

_"I hold you close to me.  
Feel the breath of you, and the wonder of you  
And remember a time  
Without you  
But only as one would remember  
A bleak and distant nightmare  
And you shudder against me in your sleep  
Do you share the memory with me of dark times past?  
And you smile  
Do you share the memory of times to come?   
The future holds such promise  
And just as I cannot imagine how I survived the past  
Without you  
I cannot imagine a future  
Without you."_

**The End**

_::looks around nervously::_ Well, that was so totally different from anything I've written so far. Was it any good? Using the book stuff and all? Would it have been better if Angel was in it more? Please, feedback is a necessity on this story.


	17. Enemies

Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: It's kinda like my blood -- a necessity if you want me to stay alive and write more. Plus it's just the polite thing to do.  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different.   
Rating: Same as the TV show  
Spoilers: Set near the end of the third season episode "Enemies." Small spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened.  
Concept: Rewind from the end of the episode through the final B&A scene. Pretend episode happened up to the moment where Buffy walks in to the mansion. From there on, the last scene of the episode did not happen. Instead, there's the following... 

Author's Notes: Is anyone sick of these yet?

**Chains of Destiny**

by Lady Callista

Buffy walked slowly into the mansion, emotions simmering rapidly. There was so much she needed to say, she just wasn't sure how to do it.

"Buffy." Angel said the moment she walked in.

"Hi." Was all she could manage to say.

"Are you okay?" Angel saw immediately that she was upset.

"I've been better." Buffy answered truthfully.

"Buffy, I know what happened must have been hard for you, but..."

"But it was my idea Angel." Buffy replied. "I thought that I could handle it. I didn't realize it would hurt so much, even though I knew it was pretend."

A few tears fell down her face, and Angel moved to take her softly into his arms. He held her while she cried, and a few tears even made it down his face to fall into her silky hair.

"Buffy...all I thought about that whole time was you. I tried to imagine what it must be like for you, and I couldn't. Just your voice and the look on your face were..."

"It was just acting." Buffy replied half-heartedly.

"To a point maybe. But when you act, the emotions have to come from somewhere."

Buffy gave an almost-smile. "The only acting I had to do was to pretend that I didn't know everything happening was staged. I just had to pretend you were really Angelus and that you wanted Faith. The emotions came on their own."

Angel looked at her, pain in his eyes. "I know this probably won't help, but even if I had been Angelus for real, that wouldn't have happened. Cause the one thing both Angel and Angelus have in common is that they want you and only you."

Buffy looked in his eyes for a moment, as if testing the truth of his words. Finally, she said, "Can I ask you one thing? I shouldn't, but..."

"Anything."

"How far did you have to go? With Faith I mean." Buffy asked, knowing the answer might cost her dearly.

"No further than anything you saw. Kissing, touching, nothing more. If I had to go farther, I don't think I could have kept up the ruse. I couldn't have sle..."

He was stopped by Buffy putting her fingers up to his lips. "Shh. Okay, that's all I had to know."

Then she went up on tiptoe and kissed him softly on the lips. The kiss deepened and soon they were fused together, bodies as close as they could get. It was Angel who broke away a moment later. "We can't." He managed to say, trying to pull away from her even though it was the last thing he wanted to do.

Buffy didn't reply, but she let him pull away. When her breathing was finally under control, she said softly. "This just went beyond being annoying. It officially sucks."

"What does?" He asked, confused at the tone of her voice.

"Not being able to be together." She replied. Then something occurred to her. "Come on." She reached for his hand and pulled him out of the mansion.

"Where are we going?" He asked her they she rapidly marched down the street.

"To use the Willow-phone." She replied without breaking stride.

"What!?!?!"

After Willow had re-invited Angel into her room, Buffy spent some time explaining to the red head exactly what she wanted to do. When she had finished, Willow looked at her without comment, eyes wide with shock.

"Why didn't I ever think of that?" She asked out-loud.

"Probably because you haven't spent nearly as much time thinking about it as I have." Buffy answered, glancing lovingly over at Angel who was still in shock.

Willow then turned to the vampire. "Do you want to do this?" She asked, aware that he had, like her, just heard the plan for the first time.

"I want to know." He answered. "It never occurred to me that Jenny might not have..."

He trailed off and Willow replied, "Okay then. Let's do this. Just let me get out some stuff..."

She went over to a far wall and opened a chest very similar to one Buffy had. But instead of a secret compartment filled with stakes and Holy Water, Willow had the entire chest filled with herbs, chalices, incense, candles, jewelry, books, and other witchy stuff. She pulled out a notebook as well as several other things.

"I've done it before without this kind of stuff, but it makes it easier." She explained as she began setting things up.

She gave Buffy five white candles, telling her to use them to form the five points of a pentagram.

She gave Angel a censer, telling him to get the incense smoking and then put it in the center of the pentagram Buffy had made.

Willow herself spent a few moments going over an incantation in one of her notebooks, then put it to the side. She knelt by the candle at the head of the pentagram, gesturing Buffy and Angel to kneel on either side of her around it.

They all joined hands, closed their eyes, and Willow began to speak in Latin.

At her first words the five candles flared to life, a moment later some of the wax melted of it's own accord and reached out to the other candles, fully forming a pentagram, circle around it and all. The wax then seemed to solidify, leaving five half-melted candles still burning at the points of the star.

Buffy was slightly wigged, but continued to concentrate on the presence they were trying to call. She could feel Angel's thoughts meld with hers, the link between them increasing with the magick Willow was calling into play. Suddenly Willow stopped chanting and jerked ramrod straight, her hands breaking contact with Buffy and Angel.

Buffy opened her eyes then, seeing that the pentacle they had made glowed brightly and that some of that glow had centered itself on Willow. Her posture relaxed a little, but it was clear when Willow opened her eyes that she was no longer in control of her body.

Buffy just hoped it was the correct ghost who was in control. "Jenny?" She heard Angel ask, seconding her concern that a different ghost might have been contacted.

"Angel?" Willow's body asked. "Buffy? Is that you?"

"It's us Ms. Calendar." Buffy responded.

"Why have you called me?" Jenny asked them, her voice sounding more like her own and less like Willow's as she continued to talk.

"Because we need to know something that only you can answer."

Jenny waited patiently but didn't answer.

Finally, Buffy said, "Is the spell Willow did the same as the original curse?" She didn't have to clarify what spell of course; Jenny knew exactly what was on the lover's minds.

"You mean, did it have the same clause in it."

"Yeah." Buffy sounded relieved that Jenny understood.

"It did not."

Angel sucked in an unnecessary breath. "You mean..."

"I wasn't trying to curse you Angel, I was trying to give you back your soul. Willow followed the spell I had rewritten, which was not a curse with a clause. I had hoped she would figure that out on her own, but obviously she never thought to translate what she was saying. She just assumed I had used the original curse. I did not. I couldn't have done that to you." She finished in a whisper.

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.

Jenny turned to face the Slayer once more. "I knew how much you loved each other, what good would it have done for Angelus to have his soul back and become Angel if Angel and you could never be together again? That would eventually tear you apart for good because you wouldn't be able to bear being together and not being able to make love. You love each other so much that the temptation would eventually become too strong to ignore."

"But why didn't you tell us?"

"As I said, I had thought Willow would think to translate the spell she had done. Either she didn't think to or didn't know how to. Rupert is blinded by his love for me, he'd never think to do something that might help Angel. And no one else in your group has the ability to translate it, even if they thought to. And I couldn't come to you, my help was forbidden by the Powers unless you asked for it."

"The Powers?" Angel asked.

"The governing forces in the universe." Jenny refused to explain further, saying mortal minds couldn't understand any more than that. "I'm just so glad you finally thought to ask."

"So, no curse. No nothing? Angel has his soul for good?" Buffy repeated, making sure.

"Angel has his soul for good. Until he becomes dust." Was Jenny's reply

"Thank you." That was all Buffy could manage to say.

Angel echoed her, adding a heartfelt "I'm so sorry for..."

"That wasn't you." Jenny cut him off. "And the creature that killed me will never be loosed again. You are the most valuable ally that Buffy could ever have -- someone with the strength to help her fight, the knowledge to assist her in hard times, the loyalty that she need never question, and the love that will see you both through all things. Together, you have saved the Earth several times and are destined to do so many more. Without you, she might not succeed the next time. That you are with her again is more than worth my death in the balance of things."

"Not to everyone." Angel whispered.

"Rupert, Xander, they will all understand in time." Jenny said, her voice beginning to sound like Willow's once again.

"Jenny?" Buffy questioned suddenly.

"Do not fear, it is just time for me to go. I cannot stay within Willow any longer without risk of harming her. Goodbye, young lovers. Good luck."

And with that, she was gone.

The candles extinguished themselves in that second, which was good because Willow slumped forward into the center one.

Buffy caught her quickly, but Willow regained consciousness only an instant later.

"Wow." Was all the young witch could manage to say.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just can't believe I didn't think to translate the spell. You guys could have been together all these months if I had..."

"It's okay Willow. It doesn't matter. Without you, Angel wouldn't have his soul back and we wouldn't have been able to talk with Jenny. I think that more than balances things out."

They talked a moment longer, but then Buffy replied that her and Angel had to leave. She said that mostly because she could see how exhausted Willow was. Willow nodded, grateful that she could go to sleep. Angel left, and as Buffy turned to follow him, Willow whispered, "I want details tomorrow, lots of them."

Buffy grinned and said nothing, just nodded her head.

Angel and Buffy walked back to the mansion hand-in-hand. When they arrived, the looked at each other awkwardly. They both knew exactly what they wanted to do, but...maybe they should wait. Or they could talk it over. Or just see what they...

Finally, Buffy decided to heck with it. "Race you to the bedroom!" She said as she took off. Angel could only laugh as he followed her, wondering how it was that this girl over 200 years younger than him had found the courage to break the awkwardness of the moment.

He grinned again upon reaching the bedroom. Buffy had taken the chains he had pretended to lock her up with earlier and had chained herself to his bed.

"This could be fun..." He said, half-to himself, as he started towards her.

"I thought so." She replied, looking at him seductively.

He lay down on the bed, slowly settling himself on top of her. "I love you." He whispered as he brought his lips down upon hers.

"I love you." Buffy whispered when she pulled away a few minutes later for a much-needed breath. Her hands were still chained above her.

"Let the games begin." Angel replied as the lovers settled down to enjoy each other.

Neither of them felt the brief presence in the room before it quickly vanished.

"It's about time." Jenny whispered as she vanished back into the other world, happy that Slayer and vampire were back on the right path, thanks to her.

**The End**


	18. Earshot

Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: Do you even have to ask by this point?  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different.  
Rating: Same as the TV show  
Spoilers: Set after the third season episode "Earshot ." Small spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened.  
Concept: The favor Giles's friend did (in "Enemies") to repay him was not taking Angel's soul away. But what if that's not all he did? 

Author's Notes: Only three more left after this…

**Friends and Favors**

by Lady Callista

"If you're not too busy having sex with my mother." Buffy said with faked nonchalance.

Giles walked into a tree.

Buffy rolled her eyes and kept on walking.

"Whoa! Giles having some problems there?" Xander asked as he came up on one side of Buffy.

"What did you say to him?" Willow asked as she got on Buffy's other side.

"Just something I found out by reading someone's mind. Believe me when I say you don't want to know." Buffy said with a grimace.

"So, are you gonna see Angel again tonight?"

"Yeah, I think so." Buffy said with a small grin. "I actually talked to him and all about the Faith thing. He said every one of my fears was unfounded. Which I knew, but still..."

"It's nice to have him confirm it?" Willow said with a grin.

"Yeah, it is." Buffy replied with a smirk.

"So all that stuff you said to him about wanting some time and space..." Willow questioned.

"All that stuff flew right out the window the minute I thought I could read his mind." Buffy said, slightly embarrassed. "And then once he told me the truth..."

"So are you guys back together?" Xander asked, almost angrily.

"No. I mean, I don't think so. We...we really can't be. But..."

"But what?" Willow asked more gently.

_"Are you still my girl?" _

_"Always"_

"I love him." Buffy said, smiling at the memory. "Come on, class it starting." And with that, she rushed off to her last class, leaving two very confused friends in her wake.

Buffy was in her room later that night loading up on weapons for patrol when she felt a presence behind her. It was definitely supernatural but it wasn't Angel.

Without turning around, she tightened her grip on a knife that was in her chest of supplies and said to the room, "Who is it and what do you want?"

"I am a friend of your Watcher. And I wish to know why you are not with your lover."

"Friend of..." Buffy turned around to face the man, whom she recognized as the one who had helped her, Angel, and Giles with their plan to trap Faith. "Oh, it's you. And what do you mean, my lover?"

"The vampire. It's been days since I completed the spell for him and yet you are not together."

"Spell?" Buffy asked in confusion. "You mean not taking Angel's soul away? Well, that doesn't change anything, he's still..."

"'Not taking Angel's soul away.'" The man looked at her in shock. "Is that all you think I did? Simply pretended to take his soul while I put on a light show?"

"Well, yeah. That was the plan after all." Buffy was extremely confused.

"The vampire did not tell you the request he made of me? He did not inform you of what my spell actually did?"

"What are you talking about? God, you're more cryptic than Angel ever was." Buffy said, almost yelling. Yet she had seen the type of magick at his command so she knew better than to get him too upset.

"Speak of it with him, then. I cannot..."

"I'm speaking of it with you." Buffy said through gritted teeth.

"It must come from him, or..."

Buffy took a menacing step towards him, forgetting all about the magick he commanded and what it could probably do to her. "Tell me."

"Ask him." The man said as he vanished in the same manner as he had in the library.

"Geez, that creeps me out." The very angry Slayer muttered to the empty room before marching out the door. She headed straight for the mansion.

Angel was surprised a few minutes later by a very loud knock on his door. It was repeated angrily twice in the twenty seconds it took for him to get to the front door.

He opened the door cautiously, not certain who or what he would find there.

Buffy was certainly the last person he expected.

"Buffy, what..." He trailed off when he noticed the look in her eyes and unthinkingly took a slight step backwards.

She used that as her opportunity to walk into the house, taking the door from his hand and slamming it behind her. She faced off with him. "What didn't you tell me?"

Angel warily put some distance between them. "What you are talking about?"

"Well, see, remember the dude who owed Giles a favor? How he pretended to take your soul and all and didn't do what the Mayor wanted?" Buffy was fuming.

"Yeah..."

"Well, he materialized in my bedroom about ten minutes ago. Lovely guy. Asked me why I wasn't with you yet and then got way cryptic, even compared to you, about some spell or something that he was absolutely stunned you hadn't told me about. So what's the what?" Buffy calmed down slightly as she got it all out.

"Buffy, I..." Angel looked slightly guilty. "Let's sit down." He moved carefully into the living room where he had just built a fire, keeping an eye on Buffy as he went.

Buffy followed reluctantly, taking a seat on the couch next to him but not getting too close.

"I was going to tell you, that night. Then you came in and were so upset about everything, you said you needed space and all. And I didn't want what he had done to be the reason you came back to me. I wanted it to be just because of love, nothing else." Angel said slowly with his eyes downcast.

Buffy reached out a hand and tipped his face up so that he was looking at her. Her anger began to drain away as he softly confessed something that was obviously of great importance.

"Angel, what did he do?" Buffy asked him with pleading eyes.

"I was going to tell you later, once we'd both cooled down." Angel went on as if she hadn't asked a question. "But then you had that whole telepathy thing going and I didn't want one more thing on your mind. Everything I told you when you came to me to try and read my mind was the truth, about Faith, about you, and about me. I just left something out because I didn't want one more thing for you to deal with."

"Is it that bad?" Buffy didn't like the way he was talking.

"No, no it's not bad at all. It's incredible. But it was for us, and I wasn't even sure afterwards that there still was an us after Faith and..."

"Angel, I believe everything you said. You love me. I love you. No one's ever gonna come between that." Buffy took both of his hands in hers, trying to prepare herself for whatever he was going to tell her.

"Buffy. The spell Giles's guy did, it wasn't just some light show. As long as he was here, I asked him if he was capable of doing something and he said he was and he would." Angel looked her right in the eyes. "He bound my soul to me. There're no clauses. I'll never become Angelus again, no matter what happens."

Buffy didn't comprehend for a second and then slowly her eyes glazed over with tears. This was her dream coming true. Her face took on a look of wonder, then a look of hurt. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I wasn't even sure if you wanted to be together anymore. We've both been playing the friends thing pretty well, even though it's been hard. And despite this new variable, I still can't give you a normal life. I'll never be able to take you in the sunlight, or give you children, or..."

"Angel, stop." Buffy whispered as she put a finger on his lips. "I don't care about sunlight, as the Slayer I'm better in the dark anyways. And there's no way I can ever have kids. A pregnant Slayer would be a dead Slayer very quickly. Plus I may not live long enough anyways."

"Don't say that." He whispered as he wiped his thumbs over her cheeks to erase her tears.

"It's true." She said. "But whatever time I have, I want it to be with you Angel. I'll never have a normal life and I don't want one. If I was normal, you'd have never come near me. And if you were a normal guy, I'd never have met you. Plus anyone normal couldn't patrol with me. And I'd still be making Cordelia look like a great humanitarian." She grinned a little through her tears.

"You're sure this is what you want? Like I said, it doesn't change much." Angel was almost too scared to get his hopes up.

"It changes everything. The reason we've been tip-toeing around each other all these months is because we knew we couldn't truly be together. We love each other so much that eventually it would have been too powerful for us to resist. And since we couldn't risk that happening, we couldn't be around each other much at all. But now, God Angel, now we can be together in every way we've ever dreamed." Buffy slid closer to him on the couch and wrapped her arms around him.

After a slight hesitation he returned her hug, everything in him singing for joy. This was exactly how she responded to his announcement in all his dreams, but he had been too afraid of getting his heart broken again to believe them.

Now he held her in his arms and he had no intention of letting her go.

"I love you." Buffy whispered into his ear as she pulled back slightly, just enough to kiss him soundly on the mouth.

When she pulled away minutes later to get some air, he said, "I love you."

"Forever?" She asked with a teasing grin.

"And Always." He responded as he pulled her back in for another long kiss.

In one smooth movement Angel scooped her up and, never breaking the kiss, carried her towards his bedroom and his red satin sheets.

Buffy said a silent prayer of thanks to Giles's friend as Angel laid her down on the bed and joined her. She thanked him for giving her back her very reason for living.

A voice drifted into her mind. "You are welcome, Slayer."

The End


	19. Choices

Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: Do you even have to ask by this point? YES!!!! Por favor!!!  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different. The title and quote at the end come from a song called 'We Kiss in a Shadow' from "The King and I," which means it's owned by Rogers and Hammerstein.   
Rating: Umm…this version is the same as the TV show.   
Spoilers: Set during the third season episode "Choices." Small spoilers for that episode, nothing else after that has happened. The beginning of this one starts with B&A's conversation from the end of the episode and then goes from there.  
Concept: What if Spike had come back for the Gem of Amara while Angel was still in town?

Author's Notes: When I originally wrote this story, it was an NC17 fic with a lovely smut scene in it; in fact it was the first Mature-rated story I'd ever written. Since I wanted to be able to put all my S3 rewrites in the "T" rating, I've cut that part out. (It's the dream sequence, which will make sense in a few minutes.) Anyone that wants to read it (and is of age) just contact me and I'll either send it to you or give you a link to where you can find it. 

**To Kiss in the Sunlight**  
Lady Callista 

"I don't know what the Mayor was talking about. How can he know anything about us?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, well, he's evil." Angel answered as she snuggled closer into his side.

"Big time. He doesn't even know what a lasting relationship is." Buffy mumbled into him.

"No."

"Probably the only lasting relationship he's ever had is...with...evil."

"Yeah." Angel murmured into her hair.

"Big, stupid evil guy. We'll be okay." Buffy said, but her tone of voice betrayed her fear.

"We will." Angel confirmed, knowing he was lying.

"Yeah." Buffy replied. She sat that way for a moment, leaning into him and just enjoying the feeling. Suddenly she stiffened up.

"Vamp?" He asked quietly, not moving.

"Yeah, a ways behind us, heading towards one of the crypts. It must not know we're here."

Buffy silently slid off of Angel, moving noiselessly into a crouch. Angel got up beside her, looking in the direction she indicated. They saw a shadowy figure just for an instant before it entered one of the huge crypts. Without a word they silently split and stalked without a sound towards the crypt. As they approached it, they met up on either side of the door, listening.

"Well, bloody Hell. This is really it." The voice they heard was all too familiar.

The lovers looked at each other and suppressed groans.

"We need to follow him. Find out what it is." Buffy mouthed to Angel. He nodded and they both melted back into the shadows.

Spike came out a moment later and didn't sense anything amiss. He swaggered off towards an entrance to the sewers, not knowing that he was being followed all the time.

Buffy dropped silently into the sewer, catching the weapons Angel tossed down before he dropped in beside her. She handed him a stake and kept the others for herself. The headed in the direction Spike had gone.

"Princess? I found it!" They heard his voice call out a moment later.

"Princess?" Angel mouthed to Buffy. "Oh no..."

"You have it Spikey? I can see the pretty light again?" An insane voice answered him.

"Yup. Just put this on that pretty little finger and you can see the sun again. Can even go to church like you used to if you really want."

"Give it to me baby. Please?" The vampress wined.

"Not yet pet. First I need it so I can kill Buff and her pouf. If I have it on they can't kill me. Then once they're gone you'll be safe and can wear it all you want."

Buffy looked up at Angel in shock, motioning with her head to go back the way they had come.

When they were far enough away, she whispered, "What is he talking about? What can he have that will keep him safe in sunlight and make it so we can't kill him?"

"I don't know Buffy. We better get to Giles. I think it's time to crack open the books."

Buffy nodded and they walked faster until they reached the exit to the sewers. Angel lifted Buffy up into the opening and she pulled herself up to the surface. She then reached down and offered a hand to him, assisting him in getting back out of the sewers. He stumbled a little as he came up, losing his footing in the damp grass.

Buffy reached out to brace him and ended up in a position mere inches away from his face, their bodies pressed up against each other.

They leaned in and kissed softly, pulling away only as the kiss became more passionate and threatened to overtake them.

"Giles. Books." Buffy whispered in an attempt to steady herself.

"Right. Research." Angel nodded, trying as hard as she was to control his inner feelings.

Buffy pulled away then, reluctantly, but kept hold of his hand. Together they turned and walked out of the cemetery, heading for the Watcher's house.

"I don't know, it sounded like maybe a ring. Cause Spike said something about putting it on Dru's finger. He also said it would make it so we couldn't kill him, and that with it on he could go into the sunlight or touch crosses and stuff like that." Buffy finished explaining to Giles and Willow.

Her and Angel had come in as Willow and Giles were just about done researching something else, and now it looked like the two would be up all night working on this.

"Well, I have a few ideas; there are a few books we shall concentrate on. Shouldn't be too long." Giles said.

"You should go home though, Buffy. You look tired." Willow added.

"Yeah, it's kinda been a long day. For you too." The girl added pointedly.

"Yeah, but I'm still too hyped up to go to bed. Especially when we've got to research something that will make Spike invincible. That's really not a good thing."

"Oh, that's one thing I wanted to ask you Will. Do you still have the spell to reverse a vampire's invitation? Cause Spike has an all access pass to my house, and even though Mom's in LA for a few days I'd rather not have Spike be able to walk in on me while I'm sleeping."

"Um, yeah, it's in my Book of Shadows. But Buffy, you can't do it. You don't know Latin, you couldn't even pronounce most of it..."

"But I can." Angel cut her off. "I can do it right? It doesn't matter that I'm..."

"No, it shouldn't matter. All the spell needs is burning some herbs, which Giles should have left over from our last spell, a quick chant, crosses hung in every room of the house-which should still be there from...um...you know..."

Angel looked down sheepishly, Buffy looked mortified.

"Well, you'll just have to re-bless them to work against Spike. You sprinkle Holy Water around the perimeter of the house. That's pretty much it." 

Willow continued. "And Buffy, you'll have to say that one part just like you did before, since it's your house and all."

"And that's it?"

"Yeah, it is. Let me get the stuff." Willow went to copy the spell out of her Book while Giles got ready into a smudging stick the herbs they would need.

The crosses had been rededicated against Spike.

Angel now walked deosil around the house, holding the incense stick and chanting. Buffy walked whinnershins and sprinkled Holy Water all along the perimeter of the house, saying her part of the spell in English.

They met at the front door, where Buffy poured the remaining Holy Water all over the door.

"Tu esse nullus diutius exspectata. His verbus, consenus rescissus est." Angel finished.

They both stood there a second longer, then turned to face each other.

"Well, that should do it." Angel said.

"Angel..." Buffy began, then trailed off, looking down at her feet.

"What is it?" He wanted to tip her face upward but didn't dare touch her.

"Can you... can you stay here tonight?" Buffy whispered.

"Buffy, I..." He wanted to so badly, but he was so afraid of what might happen.

She looked up at him with a lost look in her eyes. "Please? I...I don't want to be alone."

"Sure I can Buffy." He said softly. "I'll just..." He moved towards the living room but she took his hand firmly.

"No, with me. Please."

"Why? What's got you so scared?"

Buffy's answer was almost too soft to hear, and her voice became more choked up the longer she spoke. "I almost lost Willow today. They could have kil... And if that exchange had gone any worse I might have lost a few other of my friends. Now Spike and his loony are back and he's unkillable. Faith...well, let's just say she's not on the home team. Our mayor is going to turn into some huge demon and try to destroy us all. The world might end on the day I'm supposed to graduate. And like the mayor said, we..."

"Shhh." Angel pulled her against him and held her tightly, feeling the front of his shirt begin to grow wet as tears slipped down her face. "I thought we already decided on this. We're gonna be fine. I love you." 

"I love you." Buffy sobbed into his chest. "I'm just so scared right now. And I can't be like this with anyone else. I have to look like I'm so strong and I've got it all together, but I don't. I may be the Slayer but I'm only 18. I hate that I have to handle all this!"

"I hate it too ionúin. If there was any way I could keep you safe from all this..."

"You can." Buffy sniffed. "At least for tonight."

Angel didn't answer her with words but gently scooped her up into his arms. She melted against him, her head on his shoulder, still crying slightly.

Angel carried her up the stairs and into her bedroom. He set her down on the bed, feeling slightly awkward. She clung to him a moment longer, then slowly pulled back.

Buffy moved slowly to her closet, moving totally on autopilot. She didn't ask him to turn his back but he did so anyway. Angel heard the rustle of clothing and was very tempted to turn around and look at her. Somehow, he refrained, bending down to take off his shoes and tossing his duster over a chair.

Buffy turned around then, half-smiled at the fact that he had turned his back, and touched him gently on the shoulder. "You can look now." She said softly.

He turned to face her. She had put on a tank top with little red hearts all over it and had matching red pajama pants.

She sat slowly beside him and Angel reached out a hand to brush a piece of hair behind her ear. "You even look pretty when you go to sleep." He echoed softly.

Instead of making some quip like she had the last time he said that, she only smiled at him and leaned in to kiss him softly. "Thanks." She said, and he knew she meant for more than just saying what he had.

They kissed a moment longer, but this time there was no worrying about where it might lead. Instead of passion, these kisses were all about love, tenderness, and most importantly, safety. Just being in Angel's arms gave Buffy the sense that nothing could be wrong with the world, and that was exactly what she needed this night.

Buffy reached over then to slide back the covers to her bed and they both climbed in. Angel lay on his back with one arm curving around her back, his hand resting on the curve of her waist. Buffy curled up against his side, her head pillowed on his shoulder and upper chest. Her one arm was wrapped around her own waist and holding Angel's hand, the other lay across his chest. With his free hand Angel gently stroked her cheek and hair.

"Sweet dreams." He whispered, dropping a kiss on her forehead.

She tilted her head up to kiss him fully on the lips. "When the last thing I see is you, how could they not be?" She questioned softly, already drifting off to sleep.

If he'd had a heart, it would have melted. He tightened his arm around her and listened to the sound of her soft, regular breathing.

Hours later, Buffy stirred slightly, whispering "Angel..."

"I'm here baby, right here."

She stirred a little more, a smile breaking out on her face. "Love you."

He could tell she was still asleep, obviously having a good dream. "Love you too." He whispered, slowly drifting off to sleep as he felt dawn approaching.

_OoOoOoO_

_ dream sequence _

_OoOoOoO_

Buffy woke up with a start, Angel waking only a second later. Her eyes shot to the window, and she was relieved to find the blinds were closed. "But they were just..." She trailed off when she noticed him looking at her strangely.

"Open?" He asked her quietly.

"Yeah, and the sun was coming in, I guess I was just dreaming."

"Obviously the same dream I was having." He commented in confusion, briefly describing it.

"Uh, yeah. That was exactly it. This is way freaky."

"It sure is." He replied. "Last time we did this was..."

"Yeah, but it has nothing to do with the First Evil this time. I can feel it. It feels like my prophetic dreams do, they're the only dreams I ever really remember like this." Buffy said with hope.

"Prophetic? That would be nice." Angel said softly, looking at her with love.

"Yeah, it sure would." She said as she stroked his cheek gently and they kissed softly. "It sure would." She repeated with longing. 

_A few minutes later…_

"The Gem of A..."

"Amara." Giles repeated. His voice sounded strange coming out of the small speakerphone next to her bed. "Belonged to a wealthy Irish heiress who is buried in a crypt over in Holy Cross Cemetery. Believed to have been taken by her nephew back across the ocean, no one knows what became of him."

"Well, whatever became of him, he didn't have the Gem. It must have been buried with this heiress somehow. And now Spike has it." Angel spoke.

"Yeah, and we have to get it back before he uses it to kill anybody." Buffy replied.

"Too late Slayer." Spike responded from her doorway.

"What the hell?" She turned to face him in shock. "Angel, the spell..."

"Doesn't work on me when I have the ring. Just like crosses and stakes won't."

"But I bet just plain old ass-kicking is still workable." Buffy quipped as she flew at him.

Her first assault had him flying, literally, out the door and down the hall to land hard on his back.

"Angel, top drawer of my dresser, grab the knife." Buffy called back into her room as she charged out after Spike.

He was already back on his feet and moving forward. "Don't worry peaches, I'm not going to kill you yet. First you're gonna watch my bloody sire go out the window and into the sunlight."

"Not while I'm alive." Buffy fired back, her eyes growing even colder. Spike had made a serious mistake. He had threatened her boyfriend.

She charged at him again, knocking him back and then shoving him down the front stairs. He landed with a thud in her foyer.

"Buffy!" Angel called. She spun to see him coming from her room, having located the throwing knife she asked for. She nodded and he tossed it to her, tumbling the knife end over end. She caught the handle of it perfectly, spinning and tossing it down at Spike in one smooth motion. Her aim was perfect and the knife embedded in his arm, pinning him to the floor.

She took all the stairs in a single leap and landed next to him. As he struggled to unpin himself, she reached down and pulled the ring off his left hand. She then removed the knife and he screamed in pain.

She felt Angel land beside her and handed him the ring without a word. He looked at it oddly for a moment, then looked back at her.

"You deserve it. Then you can take out the trash." Buffy said softly, glaring down at Spike and delivering a few hard kicks to his gut as he tried to get up.

Angel locked eyes with her and slid the ring unto his finger. Buffy went to open her front door as Angel scooped down and picked up Spike. He carried him to the doorway, then glanced at Buffy again and tossed Spike out into the yard.

They watched as he burned, leaving only a pile of ashes on her front walk.

Buffy turned to Angel and took his hand without comment. They slowly walked out into the sunlight. Angel stood in awe at the beauty of the world and the sun beating down on him, then turned slowly to Buffy.

She looked at him in awe, he was so much more handsome in the sunlight. Maybe a little pale, but that would soon change. Even as her eyes trailed over him, he was looking back at her with a look even more awestruck.

Angel tried to take in every detail of her at once. She stood barefoot on the front walk, her large pajama pants ruffling slightly in the breeze. The sun shone down on her at such an angle that her light tank top was almost see-through, but even that isn't what drew his attention.

It was when his eyes turned up to her face that he almost lost his breath. so to speak. Buffy's tanned skin glowed in the early morning sunlight and was covered with a huge smile. Her eyes sparkled in a way he'd never seen before as the sun reflected off of them. Her blond hair blew gently in the wind and was lite up by the sun so that it seemed to glow around her, almost like a halo.

"You're so beautiful..." He trailed off, his voice dumbstruck.His hand came up to her cheek and he stroked it gently, running his thumb over her lips as she stared at him in awe. Angel touched her gently, almost as if he was afraid of shattering a dream.

And that is how Giles found them a moment later when he drove up frantically. Eyes locked, hands on each others faces in awe, and the wind already blowing away the pile of ashes at their feet.

The both looked up as his car screeched to a halt in front of the house.

Their faces were practically beaming.

"I t-take it that pile at your feet is Spike?" He stuttered slightly.

"It was." Buffy grinnned. "And since he doesn't need the ring we put it to good use." Her grin grew as she looked back at Angel.

"Yes, I-I see that." Giles said, "I'll leave you two alone then. I just wanted to make sure you didn't need backup, after what I heard on the phone I wasn't sure."

"Yeah, everything's perfect." Angel replied, barely looking at him.

"Um...Willow and I found something else last night. The Gem, it appears, will also counter any magick that is attempted on the wearer. Which means although you still have your soul, the curse itself is no longer there. Neither is the, um, clause." Giles said awkwardly. He hadn't wanted to tell them for he still wasn't totally over blaming Angel for the loss of Jenny, but after seeing the looks on their faces there was no way he could not tell them.

When they looked at him in unison, there was none of the shock he had anticipated.

"We know." Angel said.

"I had a prophetic dream last night. I knew how all this would turn out." Buffy clarified.

"Ah, well, yes. I'll just be going then." Giles said even though their combined attention was no longer on him. He drove off, muttering something about getting himself a stiff drink.

Angel stared at Buffy a moment longer, then whispered, "How about we go back upstairs and make that dream come true."

Buffy took off at a dead run. Angel laughed and followed her back into the house, closing the door behind him. When he got up to her bedroom, he found her opening the shades.

Buffy stood in the light for a moment and then Angel came to her, leaning down to kiss her softly.

_ To kiss in the sunlight  
And say to the sky;  
Behold and believe what you see, _

Their arms wrapped around each other, their bodies as close as they could get. 

As one, they backed towards her bed and proceeded to act out their dream.

_ Behold, how my lover loves me. _

THE END


	20. The Prom

Distribution: If you have permission for any of my other stories, feel free. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: Please!!! I live on the stuff! Pretty please!  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different.  
Rating: Same as the TV show  
Spoilers: This one takes place after "The Prom."  
Concept: A post prom party at Willow's house. And, of course, Willow takes it upon herself to invite Angel. 

Author's notes: Yes, I'm aware that there are several B&A fics that use games of Truth or Dare, but that's really all I could think of for this episode so I apologize to those authors. Hopefully this one won't be too similar to any of the others that are out there. This is one of my longest S3 rewrites, and is very cute. Maybe a little OOC, but it works for me. Oh, and just assume that "Wild Horses" wasn't the last dance of the night, as it looked to be on the show. It was only the beginning...

Special note: This story also uses a Ouija board. For those of you who don't believe in this sort of thing, remember this is a Buffy-universe and things work differently here. For those of you who think it sounds neat and want to try it; I would recommend against it. Ouija boards are not toys and even with precautions taken you never know what might happen if you don't have the experience and skill to use them. If you use them, this will be familiar. (Can you tell I'm Wiccan?) Okay, I'll get off my soap box now.

**A Night of Games**

by Lady Callista

Buffy remained tightly in Angel's arms for one song after another. It was very much as if they were the only two people in the entire room.

Finally that illusion was broken when Willow and Xander appeared beside them.

"Think we can split you apart for one song here?" Willow asked the pair in a teasing voice.

"Well..." Angel looked down at Buffy.

"Just one song." Xander guaranteed.

"I suppose so." Buffy replied as her and Angel split, actually not the least surprised that Xander wanted to dance with her.

What did surprise both her and Angel was when Willow moved to take Angel's hand, which Buffy had just dropped. Angel quickly overcame his surprise and took Willow into his arms, although not nearly as closely as he had been holding Buffy.

Buffy moved with a smile to Xander and they danced away, laughing and talking, Xander being sure to get her out of hearing range of the other pair.

"So, are you having fun tonight?" Angel asked Willow slightly awkwardly.

"Yeah. And so is Buffy, thanks to you." Willow said with a grin.

"Yeah, well..."

"Look Angel, Xander and I did what we did for a reason. And it's not just that he wanted to dance with Buffy. I was hoping I could ask you something." She said hesitantly.

"Anything." He said with a smile. "You know that."

"Well, see, I'm kinda having this little get together after prom and all. Me and Oz, Xander and Anya, you know. Games, food, sleepover, movies. And Buffy wasn't going to come, something about a fifth wheel, but now..." She trailed off, blushing.

"But now you want me and her to come." Angel finished for her.

"Well, yeah, I guess I do. She gave us the perfect prom tonight. And she got the recognition from the kids that she deserves. And you came for her big night. It'd be a shame for it to end, for her to have to go home alone when she knows her friends are still together and having fun." Willow tried a slight guilt trip on him.

It worked. "Well, I don't exactly have any other plans. I mean, if Buffy wants to..."

"If Buffy wants to what?" Buffy questioned as she appeared beside her friends. Xander had been reclaimed by Anya.

"I'll let Angel ask you." Willow said as she broke from the vampire's embrace, leaving them alone so she could find Oz again.

"Did it work?" Oz asked as she rejoined him.

"Yeah, I kinda guilted Angel into agreeing. Now we just have to hope she's not too stubborn. After all, he did kinda dump her already. Let's just hope this gets them back together." Willow said as Oz put an arm around her waist and they watched their friends dance.

A few hours later, around midnight, the dance finally broke-up. Xander and Anya waited around by the front doors until Willow and Oz met up with them. "You guys ready?"

"Yeah, we just have to wait for..."

"Us." Buffy chirped as her and Angel walked up.

"So you did decide to come. Cool." Oz commented as the six walked towards his van. Willow climbed in beside him and the others got into the back seats for the short ride over to Willow's house. They made brief stops at both Buffy's and Angel's places to pick up clothes for the two to change into and to let Buffy's mom know that she was going to Willow's after all.

"I still can't believe your parents are letting us do this." Buffy commented as Willow unlocked her front door.

"Actually, they're not. They're out of town for the weekend and think I'm staying over at your house after prom." Willow said with a small grimace. Everyone laughed as Willow opened her front door and said, "Come on in, everyone."

Buffy smiled at her friend gratefully. Angel now had his invitation back without the awkwardness of having to ask or of Willow inviting him specifically.

Everyone filed into the family room where Willow had a pile of sleeping bags, tons of munchies, a stack of board games, and a pile of videos.

"Wow Will. You really went all out." Xander commented as he looked around.

"Yeah, well, this is probably the only party I'll ever get to have. I wanted it to be good."

"Can I get out of this dress now?" Anya asked in her typical fashion. "I don't like it. It makes it hard to breath and it..."

"Yeah, you can change." Willow cut her off before she could say anything embarrassing. She pointed out the two bathrooms to Angel and Oz, saying they could change in there. She told Xander to change in her parents room and Anya to use the guest room. She then pulled Buffy with her into her own bedroom, saying something about needing help to get out of her dress.

"I don't really need help." Willow said as she started to unzip her dress. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't mad at me."

"For inviting Angel?" Buffy asked as she took of her own gown. "No way. Despite all the stuff I told you, I still want him more than anything. I understood his decision, I still do, but I certainly don't like it."

"So if we try to change his mind tonight you'll be okay with that?" Willow asked as she slipped into her blue and green stripped PJ's.

"I sure will." Buffy replied with a grin. "Thanks Willow." Buffy slipped into a pair of black pajama pants, then pulled on a silver tank top with black stars all over it.

"That's cute. Where'd you find it?" Willow asked as they headed back towards the living room.

"At Kohl's." Buffy responded as she plopped down on the floor beside a box of crackers. "Mom said that with college starting soon I'll need some more clothes and there was this huge sale and all."

"Cool." Willow commented as she reached for a bag of chips and grabbed a soda from the cooler she'd placed by the couch.

Xander soon walked in wearing a white tee-shirt and cartoon-covered pajama pants, causing Buffy to start to giggle.

She had just managed to stop when Anya walked in wearing a long white nightgown. Both Buffy and Willow burst into laughter. They were still laughing when Oz came in with sweats on, looking much more normal than the other two.

Buffy had just managed to stop laughing when Angel walked in and her mouth fell open. He wore black silk pajamas that looked simply amazing on him. Anya turned and was about to comment when Xander put a hand over her mouth and pulled her away from Angel to sit down on the couch.

"What?" Angel asked when the room was silent for a moment. Buffy's mouth still hung open and she gazed at him with total love. His eyes fell on her and he looked slightly awestruck as well.

"Nothing...uh..." Buffy finally tried to speak as she realized she was staring.

"So, what's first? Movie or games?" Willow broke in.

Buffy flashed her a look of gratitude, still unable to speak.

"What games?" Oz asked as he went over to the pile.

"How about Spin the Bottle?" Xander asked with a grin.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea Xand." Buffy said, looking uncomfortably at Angel, then glancing pointedly between Xander and Willow.

"Why on earth would you want to spin a bottle around? That's a game?" Anya asked.

"Well, it's kinda more than that." Willow told her. Angel looked confused as well so she decided to explain. "It's...um...Well, you sit in a circle and someone spins the bottle. Then whoever it points to...they...well.."

"Whoever the bottle is pointing at kisses the person who spun it." Buffy cut in for her friend. "Unless it's someone of the same sex. Then it's the person next to them who's not the same sex. Then they spin the bottle and kiss the person it lands on. It just goes on and on."

"But," Willow cut in. "It's not really a good game when people are gonna be uncomfortable if they have to kiss certain people."

Xander looked at her, finally getting her point. "Well, what about Truth or Dare?"

"Well, Xander..."

"What's that?" Angel asked. Xander and Willow explained, to Angel as well as Anya.

"That sounds fun." Anya said. "Cause if you don't wanna worry about a dare you just have to tell the truth."

"I don't know. Truths can be worse sometimes." Buffy said, remembering when she used to play Truth or Dare at Hemry.

"Yeah, but not between the six of us." Xander countered. "There's not a whole lot about each other we don't know anyway."

"I guess, but..." Buffy trailed off as a thought crossed her mind. "But I wanna set one groundrule."

"What is it?" Willow asked her friend.

"Truths can pertain only to who a person is right now."

"I don't get you..." Xander began.

"Nothing about Anyanka or Angelus." Buffy made herself perfectly clear, knowing that Xander might use the game to bring up some very embarrassing things about Angelus.

Anya shrugged her shoulders, she couldn't have cared one way or the other. Angel only looked at Buffy gratefully.

"Agreed?" Buffy asked, making eye contact with each of her friends.

There was a chorus of "agreed" and they all sat down to play.

"Why don't you go first Will. It's your party and all."

"Okay. Oz. Truth or Dare?" Willow turned to her boyfriend.

"Truth." Oz answered. He wasn't ready for a dare, at least not this early in the game.

"Okay. Um...if you could have one wish, what would it be?" Willow asked.

"That my little cousin had never bitten me." Oz said after a moment's thought. Everyone laughed a little bit. "Buffy. Truth or Dare?"

"Truth." Buffy responded hesitantly. She hoped Oz wouldn't come up with anything too bad.

"Okay...Describe your best kiss ever."

Buffy moaned and glared at him, but Oz hadn't been trying to be mean. That was just the only thing he could think of.

"Um..." Buffy tried to think. She could feel Angel's eyes on her and it threw her. Finally, she answered, "My best kiss was, um, was probably the very first time I kissed Angel." Both her and Angel thought back to that night in her bedroom and smiled a little. "He was trying to rationalize why we couldn't be together, I was acting like I couldn't care less, and we just kinda gravitated towards each other despite our words. They say that the first time you kiss someone is always special, well, it was more than that. It was incredible." Buffy said, her eyes locked on the bowl of candy in front of her. Her face was an interesting shade of red.

The room was oddly silent for a moment and Buffy finally looked up, right into Angel's eyes. He was staring at her with pure love.

"Ask someone else now." Anya interrupted their gaze with her usual tactlessness.

"Fine. Anya. Truth or Dare?"

"Dare." Anya replied, not sure what kind of truth Buffy would think up for her.

"Cool. Um..." Buffy tried to think of something. She finally whispered something in Willow's ear and they both broke out giggling. Willow nodded her head. "I dare you to lip-sync a song and dance for us."

Anya looked at her strangely. "What song?"

"This one." Willow found it in her stack of CD's and popped it into a player. She let everyone listen to it for a minute, whereupon both Xander and Oz started to grin.

"But she doesn't look like her." Xander commented sadly.

"Oh, but I know this song." Anya said. "I saw it on TV last week."

Willow went back to the beginning of the song and then sat down as Anya did a pretty good impression of Britany as she sang and danced to "Baby, One More Time."

Everyone, even Angel who had never heard or seen the song, was laughing by the time Anya was done. She sat back down with a flourish as the song ended.

"Angel. Truth or Dare." Anya said immediately.

"Dare." Despite Buffy's rule, he wasn't comfortable with truth. Besides, what could Anya come up with that would bother him?

"Have sex with Buffy."

Buffy choked on the soda she was drinking, almost spitting it out. Willow and Oz just stared at her. Xander burst out laughing and couldn't stop. Angel looked at her, his eyes wide.

"Um...Anya..." Willow started to say. She was interrupted by Buffy, who sat next to her, still having a coughing fit. Sitting on the other side of Buffy, Xander began to hit the Slayer lightly on the back.

When she finally stopped choking, Willow continued to explain. "Anya. That's not the kind of thing you can dare someone to do."

"Why not? It doesn't break Buffy's rule, and no one said there were any other rules in this game." Anya didn't understand what was wrong with her dare.

"Because that's not exactly something someone will want to do with other people watching." Xander tried to explain. "And the dares have to take place in front of everyone."

"But you wanted to play that kissing game."

"But kissing is a lot different from having sex." Xander said patiently. "Kissing can be done in public, and it doesn't have to mean anything. Friends can kiss. Friends don't have sex. And no one does in public. Well…" He trailed off, not wanting to take that idea any further.

"Fine then. Angel, kiss Buffy." Anya said with a bored tone, looking at Xander who sat next to her. "Is that a better dare?"

Xander didn't say anything, his eyes locked with Willow, then Oz, as they felt the tension in the room jump sky high. Angel and Buffy stared at each other across the circle without comment.

Finally, Angel sighed and scooted forward, essentially kneeling in the center of the circle.

His hand came up to Buffy's chin and he tilted her head as he leaned towards her. Buffy's eyes closed automatically, her hand moving to rest on his knee for better leverage.

Angel kissed her softly, gently. It was a careful kiss, partly because they were surrounded by others, partly because he knew if he truly got started he wouldn't be able to stop. He was starved for her. When Angel pulled back, he found himself staring into Buffy's eyes. They remained that way for almost a minute, neither them or anyone else knowing what to say.

Finally, Oz said, "Your turn to ask a question now Angel."

Angel reluctantly scooted back to his original spot between Anya and Oz and continued the game.

After thirty minutes, many secrets, and much laughing, the gang finally decided to play a different game. Since Anya had been the last one picked at Truth or Dare, they decided to let her pick what game to play. She came back with a box smaller than most of the games. The large lettering on the front of it spelled out "Ouija."

"Do you know what that is?" Buffy asked her uncertainly.

"No, but I don't know what any of the other ones are either." Anya said with a shrug. "I just grabbed one with a neat box."

"I kinda got my share of ghosts last year." Xander said.

"Ghosts?" Angel questioned. "I thought this was just a game."

"Well, some people call it just a game or a toy. Others call it the most dangerous game in the world. And still others call it an occult tool." Willow said quietly. "I got it because of the later."

Willow, with Buffy's help, then explained to Angel and Anya just exactly what a Ouija board was meant to do. She had gotten it as a magickal tool and found that it often worked for her.

"So do we still wanna do this?" Oz asked after everyone grasped what could happen.

"Have a seance? Why not?" Anya asked. "I've seen them done before. They're perfectly safe if you do them right."

"Yeah, just let me get some stuff to make sure it's safe." Willow said as she headed for her bedroom. She returned a moment later with six blue candles and a container of salt.

The group sat around a small table in the family room where they set up the board and the piece of wood that would be used as a pointer. Willow laid a circle of salt around the board itself, chanting softly to herself as she did so. She then placed the charged protection candles in a larger circle, one behind each of her friends.

She then sat in her place across from Anya and the two witches cast a circle of protection.

Their friends were startled when the candles flared to life as they finished casting the circle.

"Okay." Willow said as each of them put one finger on the pointer. "Are we going to call for anyone specifically?" Oz held a pad of paper and was ready to write since Willow had informed them that depending on the ghost the pointer could sometimes move too fast to make the words out unless they were written down.

"Let's just see if anyone wants to talk." Buffy suggested. That was how her and her friends in LA had always done it. Of course, it had never worked for them, probably because they had been giggling the entire time they tried to use it.

Willow nodded and said in a firm voice. "Are there any spirits of light here this night?" It was her traditional opening question anyway.

Nothing happened for a moment, then they moved the pointer slowly towards the word "yes."

Everyone except Willow and Anya gasped in shock. None of them had ever had it work before. Everyone looked at each other, somehow thinking that someone had made it do that.

"Are you willing to speak with us?" Willow asked.

The pointer shifted slightly, still pointing to the word "yes."

"What was your name in life?" Anya questioned. Both her and Willow knew that if a spirit wouldn't give it's name it was probably evil and should be banished.

The pointer moved slowly. Willow called out the letters as Oz wrote them down. "J...A...N...N...A..."

Everyone but Anya locked eyes with someone in shock. This was impossible.

"But we knew you by another name, right?" Buffy finally had to ask. The pointed moved towards the "yes" again, then spelled out "J...E...N...N...Y..." It moved a little faster than it had the first time.

Angel's face took on a pained expression.

"Are you here for a specific reason?" Willow asked after they were all over the initial shock.

"Yes." Was pointed to again.

"What is it?" Xander spoke up.

"T...O...H...E...L...P.."

"To help who?" Oz asked. Angel was now the only one who hadn't spoken.

"A..N..G..E..L.."

No one knew what to say. The obvious question would have been "how?"

Instead, Angel asked Jenny softly, "Why?"

"B..E..C..A..U..S..E..Y..O..U..A.N.D.B.U.F.F.Y.N.E.E.D.EACHOTHER" The pointer continued to pick up speed as Jenny got the hang of communicating this way.

"Why?" This time Xander asked the question.

"TOFIGHTSUCCESSFULLY" Willow continued to call out letters as the pointer moved. Oz rapidly wrote them down, then told them all what Jenny had said.

"We do?" This from Buffy

"THATISWHYYOUARETHEMOSTSUCCESSFULSLAYERINHISTORYBECAUSEYOUDONOTFIGHTALONE"

"That is why you are the most successful Slayer in history; because you do not fight alone." Oz repeated without being asked.

"How can you help them?" Willow asked.

"YOUALREADYDIDJUSTNOONEKNOWSIT"

"I did? How?"

"THERITUALOFRESTORATION"

"My curse? But how does that help Buffy and I? We still can't be together."

"WILLOWDIDNOTPERFORMACURSESHEGAVEYOUYOURSOULWITHNOCONDITIONS"

"Whoa. That was a little too fast for me to catch." Buffy broke in.

"Willow did not perform a curse. She gave you your soul with no conditions." Oz read back to them.

The entire table was silent for a moment except for Anya, who asked what the heck they were all talking about. She was ignored.

Finally, Buffy spoke up, her voice barely a whisper. Her eyes were full of tears. "You're sure?"

"IAM"

"Why?" Angel asked again, meaning it in a different context

"BECAUSEONLYTOGETHERAREYOUSTRONGENOUGHTOFIGHTTHEEVILTHATWILLCOME"

Angel looked to Oz again. "Because only together are you strong enough to fight the evil that will come." He correctly spaced and punctuated the sentence.

"ANDBECAUSEYOUBOTHDESERVEHAPPINESS" The pointer moved again.

"We both deserve happiness." Buffy repeated in wonder. "Thank you so much."

"YOUAREWELCOMEIMUSTGONOW"

"Thank you Jenny. And I'm sorry." Angel said as a tear traced it's way down his cheek.

"TELLRUPERTILOVEHIM."

"We will." Willow said softly.

"GOODBYE"

Everyone simultaneously felt a slight chill move through them. The candles flickered wildly for a moment and then went out.

"Let no other beings use this board or be present in this house until I call for them." Willow chanted after a second. She then added a Latin incantation while Anya chanted a circle thanks and closing spell.

When they were done everyone remained sitting in shock for a moment.

Willow finally stood up. "Anya, can you grab some of these candles for me? Guys, there's some more food out in the kitchen..." She trailed off as Xander and Oz both headed for the kitchen. Anya picked up a few candles, Willow grabbed the others, and they headed back towards Willow's room.

Buffy and Angel had locked eyes over the table and didn't move a muscle as Willow cleared everyone out of the room.

Buffy slowly made her way around the table and sat next to Angel.

"We both deserve happiness." Buffy repeated to Angel.

"But you deserve a normal life."

"You heard Jenny. We're only strong when we're together. And I don't think she means just physically. We need each other Angel. I can't imagine what my life would be like if you weren't in it."

"Buffy, I..." Angel started to say.

"What would I have left to fight for?" She whispered as she burst into tears.

"I don't want to leave." He finally admitted as he drew her into his arms.

"But I knew I had to. Because being around you all the time and not being able to..."

"I know what you mean." Her voice was slightly muffled as she spoke into his chest. "I didn't want you to leave. I don't know what I would have done...but I knew why you had to. The temptation would have just been to strong one night and..."

"And it would have cost more of your friends their lives." Angel whispered as he stroked her hair. She was finally calming down.

"But we are talking past tense here, right?" Buffy whispered as she drew back to look him in the eyes.

"Well, yeah, I guess we are. If we can work together, fight together...be together and not have to worry about Angelus, how could I say no to that. I love you too much." Angel said. "But I'm almost too afraid." A tear trailed down his face and Buffy tenderly wiped it away.

"Of what?"

"That you'll hate me someday." Angel expressed his darkest fear, one that he thankfully hadn't been asked about in their game of Truth or Dare. "You'll look back and you'll wonder what kind of life you could have lived in the sunlight with a normal guy."

"I could never hate you Angel." Buffy whispered, taking both his hands in her own. "I'm the Slayer, I'm not exactly made to thrive in the sunlight. Besides, anyplace you aren't automatically loses a great deal of appeal to me."

Angel's face changed as she spoke, an expression of pure amazement coming unto his face. "How did I get to be so lucky?" He whispered as he leaned in to kiss her.

"The same way I did." Buffy said as their lips met.

The kiss continued to grow in intensity as Buffy shifted her position so that she sat on Angel's lap. Their arms went around each other and they pressed as close as possible.

They didn't even notice when Willow came in to grab some sleeping bags. Willow and Oz spent the night in her room. Xander and Anya took the guest room.

And Buffy and Angel remained right where they were, on the floor of the room where they had been given the best news in the entire world.

The End


	21. Graduation

Distribution: If you had permission to take any of my other stories, you can use this one as well. Just let me know where it's going. Others, just ask and I will most likely give permission.  
Feedback: Please!!! It's like my blood.  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss, the WB, Mutant Enemy, (the evil)FOX, and whoever else came up with them. If they belonged to me the show would be drastically different. The song Willow is singing as the fic opens is (kinda) the most famous verse from the Pagan song "Oak, Ash, and Thorn." There are several versions of it, one of which is set to the melody Willow names, others that are not. I've also changed the words slightly. Also, it's traditionally not for Litha, but for Beltaine, but I couldn't find a good Litha song so I just used this one. Also, the verses of the Witch's Creed that Willow is teaching Buffy actually exist, and are fromDoreen Valiente's "The Witch's Creed," which I believe is in the public domain but I'll say it here just in case.  
Rating: Same as the TV show Spoilers: _Set June 20, 1999_. Anything season 3 is game, mostly Graduation pt 2 though.  
Concept: Trying to cheer Buffy up, Willow decides she needs a night of fun and celebration. So she takes her to a celebration of the all-night pagan holiday known as Litha. (also called Midsummer or the Summer Solstice) She's also hoping that the rituals of the night will do Buffy some good. But they do more good than she ever could have dreamed...

Author's Notes: My last fic in the let's-change-a-third-season-episode's-ending-so-that-BuffyandAngel-are-together series. This one starts on June 20 and carries over to the morning of the 21st. (I think that's when Litha was that year anyway, not positive.) I decided that as much as I hated Angel leaving in B2, the entire thing was written so beautifully that I didn't want to trivialize it by having him change his mind or Buffy run begging after him. So instead, this takes place a few weeks after Angel leaves Sunnydale. Buffy's spent the entire time he's been gone moping around and crying, so Willow decides to cheer her up. Inspiration goes to William Shakespeare for his "A Midsummer Night's Dream" which is where I got the idea of using the faeries and their messing with love to my advantage.

Faerie Magick

by Lady Callista

_OoOoOoOoO_

_"Many people don't believe in fairies, but if you look real close they're always there." Torlila _

_OoOoOoOoO_

_"Oh do not tell the priest our plight  
For he would call it sin  
But we've been in the woods all night  
A-conjuring Summer in  
The winter's dark is ended now  
Upon this Solstice Day  
Oh, tidings of light and love..." _

"Willow?" Buffy asked to her friend who was softly singing a song. "What's that? I recognize the melody, but not the words..."

"The melody is 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.' It's an old Christmas song." Willow said as she continued to gather the herbs she would need into a sachet. "The words were changed by someone, not sure who, to make it into a Pagan song. It's for Midsummer."

"Midsummer?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, it's that holiday I had mentioned to you, remember? I thought you might wanna come, kinda get your mind off things. You had said you'd think about it..."

"Oh, yeah. It's tomorrow, right?"

"Well, actually, it's tonight. Like the song says though, we're out all night." Willow remarked.

"All night? Wow. Wiccans are real party people, huh?" Buffy asked with a laugh.

"Well, in this case; yes, we are. Midsummer marks the longest day of the year, which is tomorrow. Tonight around nine is the official Summer Solstice, meaning the time from when the sun sets tonight and when it rises tomorrow morning is the shortest night of the year." Willow said to her friend. "Hence, since it's so short, why go to bed at all?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Buffy said. "I think I do want to go. Get out of my moping self-pity. I don't need another night alone thinking of him and listening to depressing Sarah M. songs. Only, I'm not exactly gonna fit in with these people."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, from what you've told me, there's gonna be songs and games and rituals and everything, and I barely know the basics about Wicca, let alone have anything memorized."

"Well, we've got about 6 hours till the funs starts, you ready for a crash course?"

"I guess."

"Okay, first rule. No hello, nice to meet you, bye or stuff like that. Traditional greetings are blessed be, merry meet, brightest blessings, or something like that. And remember, to us, there're a God and a Goddess. You won't have to worry too much about that at Litha, since it honors the Sun God and not the Goddess, but in case someone says something about Her or She you'll know what they mean." Willow began.

"Got ya so far, I think. Just give me a little quiz later, okay?"

"Sure thing. Now, as for the ritual we'll be doing. It will begin with an invocation that everyone will say. You'll have to learn it."

"Okay. Shoot." Buffy said.

"Fireflies and summer sun...In circles round we join as one…"

_OoOoOoOoO_

_"The course of true love never did run smooth."  
Lysander, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 1, Scene 1 _

_OoOoOoOoO_

Around six hours later, Buffy and Willow drove up to the park that was being used by the coven Willow had found.

Willow was dressed in a long orange skirt and top with a bright sun on it. Buffy wore a red dress with silver faeries all over it that she had borrowed from Willow. Both held small cloth pouches that were filled with Midsummer herbs and tied off with red strings. The pouches would be used in the ritual. As they walked towards the large open field, Buffy was nervously repeating the Witches Creed that Willow had taught her.

"...by sword or athame of power  
It's compass between the two words lies  
In the land of the shades for that hour..."

Willow nodded her head as Buffy finished the 8th verse of the Creed. Buffy then looked at her with a confused face. "What's next? I can't remember...God, I'm never going to get this right."

"Yes, you will Buff. Cause you'll be saying it along with everyone else, not alone. You just have to know it enough to go with it." Willow told her. "Now, the next part starts with 'Our world has no right then to know it...'"

"Right, okay." Buffy said as she continued reciting. "Our world has no right then to know it. The world of beyond will tell naught. The oldest of gods are invoked…" She abruptly trailed off when a woman wearing a bright yellow dress walked up to them. She had a wreath of flowers in her hair and carried a basket full of them.

"Merry meet, young Willow. Blessings to you this Litha Day." The woman said as she put a wreath of flowers on Willow's head.

"Goddess bless, Lady Briana." Willow replied. "I'm surprised that you're doing this yourself."

"Well, what kind of a High Priestess would I be if I didn't welcome all my guests personally?" Said the woman.

Willow smiled at that; she knew she liked this woman. "And this is my friend, Buffy."

"Buffy, welcome. Brightest blessings." Briana replied..

"Blessed be." Buffy replied uncertainly as a wreath of flowers is placed on her head.

"You're new here." Briana said with certainty.

"Yes, well, I..."

"That's perfectly all right. Midsummer is an open ritual, open to anyone who wishes to join us. Anyone who comes with an open heart and mind is welcome on this grand night."

"Thanks." Buffy replied, still unsure.

"Willow, why don't you take your friend around and...actually, Arthur is right over there, he can show you around if you want, since you're not a member of this coven either."

"We'll go talk to him now, thank you." Willow replied.

Briana smiled at them and headed off towards the newest arrival. "Love and Light, Damora..."

As Willow and Buffy walked away, the Slayer turned to her friend. "Damora?" She asked. "Do their names mean something or what? Cause that's weird..."

"Well, some people here use what we call magickal names, for others they use their real names as some are descended from witches who named them things of significance."

"What about Briana?" Buffy asked.

"That's her real name. She comes from a whole family of witches. Her name is a form of Brigid, who is a Celtic Goddess. Arthur, her husband, is the High Priest of this coven. His name means Nobel One. They told me once that Willow means "freedom." I asked about the rest of you guys, just out of curiosity, but the only one they knew was Alexander. It means "Great Protector."

"Boy, don't ever tell Xander that." Buffy laughed. "He'll go out and try to protect someone and end up dead. Well, we obviously know Angel's. Angelus-the one with the angelic face. Boy, if only all name meanings could be so true. But no go on mine or Anya's or Cordy's?"

"Nope. They're either too new or just not popular enough to have been researched by the coven."

"Ah, merry meet Willow." A male voice said from beside them.

Willow and Buffy both turned. "Merry meet, Lord Arthur." Willow said to the High Priest.

"And who is your pretty friend?" The man asked charmingly.

"This is Buffy."

"Merry meet, Buffy. A blessed Litha to you both. I see you've met my wife already." He indicated the flower wreaths in the girl's hair.

"Yes, we have sir. She's..." Buffy started to speak.

"You don't need to call me sir. Arthur will do just fine." He interrupted gently.

"Arthur." Buffy repeated as she smiled. "Brightest blessings."

Arthur smiled in response. "Would you like to meet some of the other people here before our ritual begins?"

"We'd love to." Willow said after looking to Buffy for confirmation. Arthur introduced them all around, and Buffy was surprised to find herself welcomed with open arms, despite her non-Wiccan standing.

"And this is Lady Aurora." Arthur introduced the girls lastly to a very old woman. Buffy was surprised when Willow bowed low to her and quickly moved to follow the gesture.

Aurora smiled at them and reached out her hands. Each girl took one. They were greatly surprised by the woman's strong grip.

"You have strong magick in you for one so new to the path." The woman said to Willow.

Willow blushed and hung her head.

"And you, dear heart." Aurora turned to Buffy. "You do not share our faith."

"No." She whispered.

"And yet I sense a power in you too." She looked thoughtful. "Leave us." She commanded to both Willow and Arthur. They both complied with the wise woman at once.

"Why..." Buffy started to ask.

"Your power is not as ours. It comes not from the elements and the gods. Your powers run in your veins." Aurora's eyes were closed and she stroked Buffy's hands gently. "You are, perhaps, a Slayer."

Buffy should have been shocked at this, but somehow knew it didn't matter if this old wise woman knew. "Yes, I am. How do you know of Slayers?"

"My own daughter was one." Aurora replied. "Plus, when you are as powerful in magick as I am and know about vampires and demons and such, you eventually are contacted by the Watcher's Council for help with things."

"You work for the Council?" Buffy said in disgust.

"No, I do not. Just as you, I felt that they had no concept that some vampires and demons are also good."

"You know of good ones?"

"Yes, just as you do. Although I have never loved a vampire, I have never met the souled-one."

"How did you know?" Buffy asked in awe.

"His mark is upon you." Aurora told her. "Both upon your neck and upon your heart and soul. And your love is far from being over."

"But he left me." Buffy said as her eyes slowly filled with tears. She fingered the scar on her neck absently.

"You shall have him back this very night, trust me." Aurora promised her. "After the bonfire ritual, come to me. I am leading a small group in a faerie mediation and you shall join us. The fae find a certain joy in playing with romance. Their queen will be unable to resist a request brought in love from a heart as true as yours."

Buffy looked the woman in the eyes for a moment, then smiled. She knew without a doubt that this magickal woman was capable of doing anything she promised. And Willow had told her that this was the night the faeries were most active. She just hoped that they would help her.

_OoOoOoOoO_

_"Why, this is very midsummer madness."  
Olivia, Twelfth Night, Act 3, Scene 4 _

_OoOoOoOoO_

"She said what?" Willow nearly pounced on Buffy as she walked away from Aurora.

"That she could help me get Angel back. That the faeries couldn't resist a request about a love as true as ours." Buffy was almost giddy.

"Yeah, well, they are kinda suckers for love." Willow grinned back at Buffy. "When is she going to help you?"

"After the main ritual, I guess. She said I should join her in some faerie meditation thingy and that they would help me get Angel back."

"That's so cool."

"When is this main ritual anyways?" Buffy asked anxiously.

"It's just about to start." Willow gestured over to the huge group that was gathering in a circle around a large bonfire.

The two girls walked over and joined the circle, everyone talking hands. Briana and Arthur stood at the head of the group and began to call a circle.

_OoOoOoOoO_

_"Lord, what fools these mortals be!"  
Puck, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 3, Scene 2 _

_OoOoOoOoO_

Nearly forty minutes later the circle and main Litha ritual ended. It was nearly one in the morning.

"What are you going to be doing?" Buffy asked Willow as she spotted Aurora motioning her over by an already gathered group.

"Briana's leading a group in ritual dancing and singing, so that's probably where I'll be. It's a really fun part of summer rituals." Willow smiled at Buffy, noting how nervous she was. "And don't worry. Everything's gonna work out great."

"I hope so." Buffy said. "God Willow, I wanted to come here to get my mind off of him, and now I'm about to talk with some faeries and hopefully get him back. How weird is that?"

"It is not weird. It is magick." Aurora grinned as she came over by them. "Plus, it is the Threefold Law. It says that all the energy we put out is returned to us times three. Well, everything you do as a Slayer is for the good and happiness of others, so those things should return to you. And the love you have found with the souled-vampire is truly amazing. You are soulmates. Do you know how rare it is for any mortal to actually find their soulmate? Yet you have. In some way, it is the universe's compensation for the hard life you lead as the Chosen."

Willow only smiled at this and began to move off. "Say hi to Angel for me."

Buffy and Aurora both smiled as they walked off to join Aurora's group of Wiccans.

Aurora settled everyone into lotus positions and lit jasmine and thyme incense.

She led everyone deeply into a trace with hypnotizing words, then went around and anointed both their third eye and their eyelids with thyme oil. As she anointed, she chanted,

"Fae folk, faerie folk, faeries and the fee.  
Give them the sight the let them see.  
They come with an open heart, feeling happy and gay.  
Show yourselves to them this holy day."

Aurora chanted this over and over as she watched those around her, the Slayer included, settle deeper and deeper into trances. She kept up her mantra even as felt herself settling into trance, her eyelids softly closing. She prayed for the success of all in what they were trying to accomplish, but most of all she prayed silently for the Slayer. The deep love this girl had for her Angel had struck a chord deep in the woman's heart, and she would not be satisfied unless they were reunited.

_OoOoOoOoO_

_"Come Faeries, take me out of this dull world, for I would ride with you upon the wind and dance upon the mountains like a flame." W.B. Yeats _

_OoOoOoOoO_

"You called for me?" A voice came to Buffy out of the green mist surrounding her.

"Are you faeries?" Buffy asked hesitantly.

Out of nowhere the beautiful form of a woman materialized in front of her.

"I am Titania, Queen of the Faeries. The Lady Aurora tells us your wish is the most important of all who call upon us tonight, so I have come personally. This is my consort, the Faerie Prince Oberon." An equally handsome male form appeared next to the queen.

Buffy bowed low before them, dropping to one knee out of respect as she began to speak. "I've been told that you can help me with the matter of my lost love." She spoke with an eloquence she hadn't known she possessed. It must have been something about her tranced state.

"Love? That is what you call us for?" Oberon sounded disdainful.

"Do not be so quick to judge." Titania said quickly. "Remember the lengths you have gone to for love in the past."

"I am Buffy Summers, the Slayer." Buffy continued quickly.

"The Slayer?" Oberon was much more interested now. "Then the love you talk of is the souled vampire?"

"You know about us?"

"My child, the faeries know practically everything about you. We always keep tabs on Slayers and other warriors of good. We simply did not recognize your aura. I apologize." Titania reached out a hand and indicated that Buffy should stand. "Do not bow to us, Warrior. The faeries and other magickal folk have always served the forces of light, and that includes the Chosen. We will assist in anyway we can."

"I'm no good without Angel." Buffy confessed honestly. "I don't have any reason to fight. He was always my reason, my strength."

"You wish him to return to you?" Oberon asked gently.

"Yes, but I know he can't. We can't risk being close to each other, because..."

"Because of Angelus?" Titania asked softly. Buffy nodded miserably and the faerie continued. "It is sad that you do not know. Had you, you could have been together all this time."

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked with a ray of hope.

"The spell your young friend cast was no curse." Oberon picked up. "She gave him his soul with no conditions, as Janna Kalderash had prepared the spell to do. Nothing will ever make him lose his soul again."

"You...you're sure?" Both faeries glared at her. "Yes, yes of course you are. Why didn't anyone tell us?"

"We could not. You could not see or hear us. You would not have believed if we had made ourselves visible without your asking. No, you had to seek us out. Only then could we deliver this joyful news."

"Can I wake up now? I want to tell Angel."

"You do not need to wake up to tell your soulmate. We will take you to him if you trust us to do so." Titania held out her hand and her consort mimicked the move.

Buffy reached out and took each of their hands into her own. She was surprised that they felt almost solid. "Take me to Angel." She whispered. Then she was enveloped by the green mist and could see no more. The next thing she knew, Buffy stood in the middle of a bedroom that she had never seen before. A quick glance around revealed Angel laying on the bed with his back to her.

"He's sleeping at this hour?" She asked in surprise.

"He does not sleep. He...broods...is the word I believe you use." Oberon said, causing Buffy to laugh slightly.

Angel looked up quickly and glanced around the room. He saw no one and lay back down in defeat.

"He heard me?" Buffy asked in confusion. "Why can't he now? And why didn't he see me?"

"He will see you when the time is right. For now, just look over his shoulder." Titania smiled as her and her prince moved with Buffy till they could see what Angel was doing.

An open book lay on his bed and Buffy noticed that he was writing in it slowly with his eloquent script. Beside the book lay her senior picture that she had given him. He glanced at it often as he wrote.

_I thought I felt her in the room, just now. I could swear I heard her laugh and felt her soul. But then again, I see her as many times an hour as Elvis is seen in a week. It's like everything in this world somehow reminds me of her. Maybe it's because I know she used to live in LA. But everywhere I go I keep wondering if she's been there. I see her as a little girl on the beach playing in the sand. I see her and her parents playing on the swings at the parks. I see her in all her fashionable glory entering a club with all her adoring friends. I can see her at the store or out in the street. I swear every girl I pass wears her vanilla perfume. _

_I miss her so much. _

_I'd give anything in the world to be able to be with her every moment, but the temptation is just too great. Knowing I can never truly show her how much I love her or give her the kind of life she deserves..._

Angel stopped writing as a tear fell to the paper. He reached out to her black and white picture to stroke her cheek lovingly as he tried to regain control of his emotions. And then he almost lost it as he heard her voice.

"Don't cry, my Angel."

Angel looked up wildly and saw her standing in front of him. A couple stood behind her that practically oozed with magick and royal power.

"Buffy?" He whispered, knowing he was not dreaming.

"Yes, Angel. It's okay." Buffy knelt down next to the bed and ran a finger over his cheek.

"Why? What..." He was confused.

"You can come back, love. We can be together." She soothed.

"No...no we can't." Angel looked at her with sadness. "The curse..."

"Is not a condition of your soul." The female figure spoke up.

"The young witch did not wish to curse you. You will never again, for any reason, become Angelus." The male finished.

Angel looked at them in confusion.

"This is Queen Titania and Prince Oberon." Buffy said softly. "I'm at a Litha celebration with Willow tonight and they came to me during a ritual. I've been told we're soulmates, and that our love is so strong nothing will come between us."

Angel was still staring at the two faeries in shock. Slowly he regained his senses and came off the bed, kneeling before them. "My Queen." He intoned. "My Prince."

"Rise, Warrior." Titania said as she gently took hold of his arm and pulled him back to his feet. "As we told the Chosen, we serve the forces of light. And you two, together, are the greatest weapon that we have."

"You are no good to us apart." Oberon added. Angel looked back to Buffy in shock. "This is real?"

"Yes, this is real." Buffy said softly. "Come home?"

"I'm on my way." Angel said with a genuine smile. "I love you."

"I love you too." Buffy said as she and her escorts slowly faded back into the green mist. "Hurry." He heard her whisper as she vanished.

Angel was packed and in his car in under ten minutes. He broke every speed limit as he raced towards Sunnydale.

_OoOoOoOoO_

_"Lovers, to bed; 'tis almost fairy time."  
Theseus, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 5, Scene 1 _

_OoOoOoOoO_

Awakening from her trance, Buffy Summers face slowly broke into the first genuine 100 smile she had felt since her graduation.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"You are most welcome, child." The voices of Titania, Oberon, and Aurora blended together in blissful harmony.

Buffy stood up and went to tell Willow the good news.

She wasn't certain, but she had the strangest feeling her feet weren't quite touching the ground.

**The End**

AN:takes deep breath: Wow, so this series is done now. I loved it when I first wrote it, and I love it even more now that it's been more properly edited and proofread. (Yes, I realize how much my writing style, spelling, and grammar, have changed in the past 7 years, and I'm sure anyone who read these stories years ago when I first put them online noticed it as well.) Thanks to all of you who wrote reviews, especially to the few of you who reviewed every chapter. You guys are the reason people continue to write. I'm not sure what I'll be posting next, but it'll probably be another Buffy series that I wrote a while ago. I'm considering doing S4 like some of you have asked me to, but I'm not sure yet if I will or not, cause I'm not sure how much time I'll have to devote to writing over the summer. I hope everyone has enjoyed these stories, and I'll see you all soon. Oh, and for anyone who hasn't found it yet, the missing dream sequence from "Choices" is published as a one-shot in the M category, and is called "Once Upon A Dream."


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